Partner communication skills and condom use among college couples.
The authors examined the effects of (1) communication-skills training, (2) relationship-specific education, or (3) risk information on the condom use of 106 heterosexual college students who were in sexually active relationships. Postintervention assessments of in vivo communication-skills demonstrated that participants in the communication-skills group acquired the skills to use direct requests for condom use and to counter partner refusal statements more effectively than participants in the other conditions (ps < .01). Despite successful skill acquisition, however, students failed to change their subsequent communication or condom-use behavior. This pattern of findings is considered in terms of how the development of sexual partnership in this cohort affects the interplay of motivation and skills for condom use.
Tulloch
Heather E
HE
Centre for Psychological Services, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. heathertulloch@hotmail.com
McCaul
Kevin D
KD
Miltenberger
Raymond G
RG
Smyth
Joshua M
JM
D003142:Communication; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012306:Risk; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D014741:Video Recording