THE EFFICACY OF THE HEALTH BELIEF MODEL FOR PREDICTING CONDOM USAGE AND RISKY SEXUAL PRACTICES IN UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS

This investigation examined the ability of the health belief model (HE M) to predict condom usage and risky sexual practices in 122 white het erosexual college students (ages If to 33 years). The HEM did not sign ificantly explain condom usage in the 58 men and 64 women surveyed; ra ther it partially explained the variance in sexual risk behaviors. Res ults were not consistent for men and women. The HEM components signifi cantly explained 18% of the variance in multiple sexual partnerships i n men and 22% of the variance in this behavior in women. The HEM const ructs also explained 9% of the variance in the likelihood of women bei ng intoxicated or high during sex and 18% of the variance in the numbe r of sexual risk behaviors endorsed by women. These findings suggest t hat the HEM has differential and limited utility for predicting sexual practices in university students. Future research is needed to examin e more comprehensive models of behavior change.