FOR CONDOM UTILIZATION AMONG HIGH-RISK ADOLESCENT GIRLS

Two hundred forty-eight adolescent girls responded to a list of 30 sta tements describing reasons for using and not using condoms. For 24 of the statements, most adolescents (>70%) gave the same response regardi ng why they did or did not use condoms. Therefore, only the six remain ing statements were used in further analyses. The relationship between the six statements and psychosexual history, condom use, and sexually transmitted disease (STD) history was examined. Those adolescent girl s who had been sexually active longer were more likely to report lack of enjoyment as a reason that they did not use condoms (P<.03), and th ose adolescents who had been sexually active less time were more likel y to report personal (P<.005) and partner (P<.0006) enjoyment of sex w ith condoms as a reason for using condoms. Longer relationships before intercourse were associated with having condoms available (P<.01) and partner insistence on their use (P<.02). Partner insistence on condom use was related to fewer episodes of sexually transmitted diseases (P =.03). These findings indicate the importance of relationship and part ner variables in adolescent girls' perceptions of condom use.