Relationship between psychosocial, factors and condom use among African-American adolescents

The present investigation explored the relationship between psychosocial fa ctors and condom use by African-American adolescents. Two hundred twenty-ni ne males, aged 14 to 19 years, responded to a health behavior survey that g athered information on demographics, HIV knowledge, perceived certainty of future condom use, present and past use of condoms, and intention to use co ndoms in the next six months. Several psychological variables, including se xual self-efficacy and self-esteem, were also measured. It was found that t he majority of participants were sexually active by age 13, had four or mor e lifetime sexual partners, and were using condoms regularly. Multiple line ar regression analysis indicated that sexual self-efficacy predicted percei ved certainty of condom use. In addition, self-esteem and sexual self-effic acy predicted intention to use condoms. These findings highlight the need t o develop HIV prevention curricula for African-American male adolescents th at not only emphasize the potential risks associated with having multiple s exual partners, but also include components to enhance self-worth and sexua l self-efficacy.