Condom Inclusion in Cognitive Representations of Sexual Encounters

Abstract

To identify the inclusion of condom use (N = 360 college students), two sexual scripts (stable and casual relationships) were identified by free-generation methods (Study 1) and used to develop open-ended narratives up to the point before sexual intercourse. Participants completed the narratives to verify whether they spontaneously included references to condom use, and these references were related to self-report of sexual protection (Study 2). Finally, a recognition memory test clarified the typicality of condom use actions in the sexual script-based narratives (Study 3). The results indicated that although moderately referred to when free-generation is used, condom use is much less mentioned when participants complete script-based narratives and is considered a script-atypical action. Thus, we conclude that when behavior is guided by script, protective behaviors will not become mentally accessible and will not be used. Both relationships require intervention in order to increase condom use and make it a sexual routine.

Notes

In capitals – actions referred to by 50% or more of the participants; In italics – actions between 30 and 49%; remaining actions between 17 and 30% exclusively.

Note. BSE = behavior of sexual exchange: all behavior related to physical intimacy that emerges after initial behavior of physical proximity, in a maximum of two consecutive actions, as long as clothing around the genital area has not been removed; SSI = sequence of sexual involvement: three or more references to behavior related to physical intimacy, as long as clothing around the genital area has not been removed.

*a measure of inter-prototype similarity (this measure corresponds to the division of the number of actions common to two scripts by the sum of the number of single actions in each script).

^a –comparison with variant a; ^b –comparison with the variant b.

S1–stable successful sexual encounter; S1a–stable unsuccessful sexual encounter, condom-related obstacle: S1b–stable unsuccessful sexual encounter, other obstacle.

S2–casual successful sexual encounter; S2a–casual unsuccessful sexual encounter, condom-related obstacle: S2b–stable unsuccessful sexual encounter, other obstacle.

Test actions for the stable successful sexual encounter:

They smile (Typical I).

He takes her hand (Typical I).

They lie down (Typical I).

He puts on the condom (Typical I).

She chews gum (Atypical I).

A dog passes nearby (Atypical I).

He takes his wallet out of his pocket (Atypical I).

Asks if she likes the sheets (Atypical I).

Get closer to each other (Typical II).

He strokes her hair (Typical II).

Their hearts start to beat harder (Typical II).

They finish by completely undressing each other (Typical II).

He adjusts his watch (Atypical II).

Scratches an elbow (Atypical II).

He puts his hands on the wheel (Atypical II).

She smells an aromatic candle (Atypical II).

d′ index of discriminative memory.

Mixed two-way Anova tests were computed for hits and false alarms.

*p < .01 and a t test for d′, p < .01.