“Condoms are the standard, right?”: Exploratory study of the reasons for using condoms by Black American emerging adult women

ABSTRACT

Condoms are considered a highly effective form of sexually transmitted infection prevention for heterosexual sex. Black American women (BAW) have been and are at elevated risk for heterosexual exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) because they have been and continue to be less likely to negotiate condom use with a partner that supports them financially. However, BAW who have made tremendous educational gains may still encounter challenges regarding the distribution of power that can affect condom use and negotiation. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the reasons that highly educated, emerging, adult BAW reported for using condoms. One hundred twenty-seven emerging adult BAW (ages 18–29 years) completed a mixed-methods online survey during the spring of 2013 (January–May). Approximately 80% of the women were in college or college graduates. They had a high rate of previous HIV testing (68.5%). Through the use of an interpretive paradigm and grounded theory, three themes emerged regarding the reasons that the participants in this sample used condoms as their primary form of protection: (1) the reliable “standard,” (2) pregnancy prevention, and (3) cost effective and “easily accessible.” Findings are discussed in terms of their public health significance for this seemingly lower-risk population.

KEYWORDS:

• Black American women
• African American
• condom use
• HIV risk
• beliefs
• sexually transmitted infection

Notes

^1. Although, a majority of work on emerging adulthood has used the age range of 18–25, Arnett (2000) believed that the subjective state of being in transition to adulthood could continue throughout a person’s twenties. The extended age range of 18–29 is still considered part of the emerging adult developmental period.

^2. Tumblr is a social networking site with a main purpose of offering users a platform for condensed blogging. Users can both submit and exchange content via their personal blogs created on Tumblr.

^3. Braithwaite and Thomas (2001) previously conducted research exploring potential differences in HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual behavior among Caribbean and non-Caribbean African-American college students. Their findings suggested slight differences in HIV/AIDS knowledge, sexual assertiveness, and risk behavior; African-American self-identified women reported more knowledge and less risk. However, Caribbean-identified women reported more sexual assertiveness.

^4. The women that explicitly stated the word condom in their response to this question is represented by 59.8%. Responses excluded from further analyses did not include a direct use of the word condom or any other STI prevention practice such as abstinence, testing, or none. Respondents only gave one primary reason for using condoms therefore no overlap occurred in reasons given.

^5. An interpretivist paradigm acknowledges that data generated is socially constructed as a result of the interactions, perspectives, and contexts of both the participant and the researcher. Angen (2000) developed a list of criteria to evaluate research using this paradigm. Transparency on the process, questions asked, participant interpretation of the questions, and responses given is essential.

^6. It should also be noted that social desirability is not eliminated when using face-to-face interviews.