A factorial survey was conducted to identify social situations that in
hibit or promote college students' sex-refusal skills. Respondents eva
luated five different situations in which sexual intercourse might occ
ur and ranked each according to how certain the respondent would be to
refuse to have sexual intercourse in that context. Regression analysi
s of the survey data showed that knowing the other person well, being
with one's boyfriend or girlfriend, having condoms available, wanting
to have sex, and both persons' wanting to have sex reduced the probabi
lity of refusal. On the other hand, having no condoms and the presence
of drugs in the situation increased the probability the individual wo
uld refuse to have sex. In addition, men, individuals with previous se
xual experience, and drinkers displayed diminished ability to refuse s
ex. However, the lack of condoms, when combined with these three respo
ndent characteristics, acted to increase the ability to refuse sex.