Background and Objectives: Young blacks and Hispanics are an emerging risk
group for contracting HIV. The goal of this study was to assess the most sa
lient correlates of condom use for young Hispanics and blacks in Los Angele
s county sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinics as a first step toward
designing a short clinic-based intervention.
Study Design: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 376 patients youn
ger than the age of 27 years at six STD clinics operated by the Los Angeles
County Department of Health Services. Assessment included several attitudi
nal variables and AIDS risk behaviors.
Results: Condom use at last intercourse ranged from 40% among Hispanic fema
les to 48% among black males. Among females, condom users were more likely
to report high self-efficacy regarding condom use, peer norms supporting co
ndom use, and more sexual communication than respondents who did not use a
condom at last intercourse. Among males, no relationship was found between
condom use at last intercourse and these attitudinal variables, except for
sexual communication. The most important correlate of condom use among male
s and females was the frequency of carrying condoms.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that offering educational group sessions
and attractive means for carrying condoms to patients in STD clinics may ha
ve the potential to increase condom use, The efficacy of these intervention
strategies should be explored in future studies.