title: Adolescents' self-efficacy to communicate about sex: its role in condom attitudes, commitment, and use.
abstract: This study examined whether and how self-efficacy to communicate with parents and peers about sex relate to sexually experienced adolescent males' and females' (N= 144, 112) condom attitudes, intentions, and use. Results showed that males who reported greater self-efficacy to communicate with parents used condoms more frequently; and both males and females who can communicate with peers used condoms more frequently. Self-efficacy to communicate with peers was related to more positive condom attitudes, which in turn were associated with greater condom commitment and use. Greater ability to communicate with parents was also related to greater condom commitment and use among males. These results suggest the importance of designing interventions that give adolescents the skills they need to feel efficacious in their ability to communicate about sex and contraception.
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA. yafa@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Bonnie L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Halpern-Felsher
authors.forename: Rhonda Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Kropp
authors.forename: Cherrie B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Boyer
authors.forename: Jeanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tschann
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ellen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D003142:Communication; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology