Young People Might
Overestimate Condom Use, Study Finds
Some teenagers and young adults might overestimate
how often they use condoms during sex,
according to a study
published recently in the Archives of Pediatrics and
Adolescent
Medicine, Reuters Health
reports. Eve Rose of Emory University and colleagues
conducted
the study among 715 black women and girls ages 15
to 21 who were enrolled in an HIV
prevention program.
Researchers asked the participants how many times in the
past two
weeks they had sex and how many times they used a
condom. The participants also provided
vaginal fluid samples
to be screened for Y chromosome DNA, or evidence of sperm.
The researchers found that among the women who had sex
during the past two weeks, 186
reported condom use every
time. However, of the women who reported consistent condom
use, 34% had Y chromosome DNA in their fluid samples.
According to the researchers, the
reasons for the
discrepancy -- including that the participants were
mistaken, had misused the
condoms or had provided the "socially desirable" response -- are not known. They add
that
"regardless of whether the problem is condom user error
or misreporting, the unfortunate
result, in terms of risk
for [sexually transmitted infections] and HIV, is the same."
The study's
findings also have implications for young
people's sexual health and studies on the issue, the
researchers said. They added that studies using both self
reports and objective measures of
condom use might provide a
more accurate understanding of young people's sexual
behavior
and their STI risk (Reuters Health,
1/14).
Courtesy of
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
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