Predictors of Safer Sex on the College Campus: A Social Cognitive Theory Analysis

Abstract

In April and May 1989, the authors surveyed a sample of students enrolled on four college campuses in New Jersey (N = 923) concerning their HIV transmission-related behavior, knowledge, and a variety of conceptual variables taken primarily from social cognitive theory that were thought to be potentially predictive of safer sexual behavior. Analyses of sexually active, unmarried students' responses indicated that men expected more negative outcomes of condom use and were more likely to have sexual intercourse while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, whereas women reported higher perceived self-efficacy to practice safer sex. Regression analyses indicated that, among the factors assessed, stronger perceptions of self-efficacy to engage in safer behavior, expecting fewer negative outcomes of condom use, and less frequency of sex in conjunction with alcohol or other drug use significantly predicted safer sexual behavior. Enhanced self-efficacy to discuss personal history with a new partner was associated with a greater number of risky encounters. Implications of these findings for intervention efforts with students are discussed.

Alcohol use and risky sexual behavior among college students and youth: evaluating the evidence.

“…Their measure, however, confounded indiscriminate partner choice with fail ure to use a condom, thus making it unclear whether the observed covariation with drinking pattern reflects variance due to the indiscriminate behavior or to nonuse of condoms. Other studies have reported that the frequency of drinking proximal to intercourse is positively associated with the frequency of having unprotected sex or with the number of unprotected sex episodes in a given time period (O'Leary et al, 1992). Such data are confounded, however, because both the alcohol and risky sex measures depend on fre quency of intercourse.…”

Teen pregnancy, motherhood, and unprotected sexual activity

“…The association between drug and alcohol use and high-risk sexual activity in adolescents is well documented (Ford & Norris, 1994;Halpern-Felsher, Millstein, & Ellen, 1996;O'Leary, Goodhart, Jemmott, & BoccherLattimore, 1992). Based on findings of the 2001 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (CDC, 2002), of the 33% of students nationwide who identified themselves as currently sexually active, 26% had used alcohol or drugs at last sexual intercourse.…”

Lifestyle behaviors of adolescents: Relationship of self-efficacy, optimism, unrealistic optimism and selected demographic variables to the lifestyle behaviors.

“…Their research found that students with lower self-efficacy were twice as unlikely to be able to refuse sexual intercourse and were five times less likely to have used condoms consistently. Dilorio, Dudley, Soet, Watkins, and Maibach (2000), in their study of self-efficacy condom use behaviors among college students between the ages of 18 and 25, supported the findings of earlier studies of O'Leary, Goodhart, Jemmott, and Boccher-Lattimore (1992) and Wulfert and Wan (1993) in that self-efficacious participants expressed confidence in using condoms and were more likely to do so. Jemmott et al (1992) in their investigation of an AIDS prevention intervention provided to inner city black adolescent females based on three separate interventions found that those participants who received the social cognitive condition based on increasing their self-efficacy subsequently expressed firmer intentions to use condoms than the participants in the information alone and the general health-promotion interventions.…”