Correlates of Condom use Among Community College Women: The Role of Victimization, Substance Use, and Mental Health Symptoms

ABSTRACT

Research is needed to understand intersecting health risks among community college students. Applying a syndemic framework, the present research explored childhood sexual victimization, adolescent sexual victimization, intimate partner violence (IPV), marijuana use, alcohol consumption, and symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as additive as well as interactive correlates of women's condom use. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 212 women between the ages of 18 to 24 attending a community college. A series of logistic regression analyses documented that an increased number of psychosocial risk factors was associated with not using a condom during sexual intercourse. Experiencing both adolescent sexual victimization and lifetime IPV, compared to experiencing one form of victimization, increased the odds of not using a condom. Endorsing both lifetime IPV and past year marijuana use, compared to endorsing only one of these factors, also increased the odds of not using a condom. These findings highlight the importance of targeting intersections between adolescent sexual victimization, IPV, marijuana use, and sexual risk behavior when developing educational programs for community college women.

KEYWORDS:

• Community college
• sexual risk
• victimization
• substance use

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health by grant number NIMH 2K24MH070769-06 (PI: Zlotnick). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Mental Health.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, 2K24MH070769-06 (PI: Zlotnick).