SEX GUILT AND RECEPTIVITY TO CONDOM ADVERTISING

The personal and social costs of unintended pregnancy and HIV infectio n point to the need for ongoing research designed to enhance the effec tiveness of preventive advertising, particularly to those segments at greatest risk. One segment that appears to be at significant risk is c omprised of individuals who experience high levels of guilt about sex. This study seeks to determine whether high sex-guilt (SG) individuals are unique in their processing, recall, and evaluative responses to a dvertising for condoms. Two hundred fifty-two college-aged men and wom en were randomly assigned to two versions of a condom advertisement th at differed in terms of self-referencing vs. other-referencing in the message copy. A 2 x 2 x 3 (Gender x Self-Versus Other-Referencing Mess age Copy x High, Moderate, and Low Sex Guilt), between subjects ANOVA design was used to test hypothesized relationships. For female, but no t male, participants, high SG was inversely related to depth of proces sing, recall, positive thoughts about the ad, and perceived credibilit y of the ad. For both genders, high SG was inversely related to percei ved ad informativeness, attitude toward the ad, and attitude toward th e brand. Message design interacted with SG and gender on an important outcome measure-purchase intention. Study implications are discussed, and avenues for future research are suggested.