Condom Use Self-efficacy: Effect on Intended and Actual Condom Use in Adolescents

Purpose: To investigate aspects of adolescents' condom use self-efficacy that affect their intended and actual condom use.

Methods: Four hundred twenty-four male and female sexually experienced and inexperienced adolescents with a mean age of 17.0 years filled out a questionnaire concerning condom use self-efficacy and intended and actual condom use. Specific condom use self-efficacy scales were constructed from 37 items on the basis of a principal component analysis. The effect of self-efficacy, both as a global measure and in terms of specific scales, on condom use intention and consistency was assessed using multiple hierarchic regression analyses.

Results: Six specific self-efficacy scales were constructed: Technical Skills, Image Confidence, Emotion Control, Purchase, Assertiveness, and Sexual Control. In sexually inexperienced adolescents, global self-efficacy explained 48%, the six self-efficacy scales 30%, and both together 51% of the variance in intention, after statistical control for gender, age, and education level. In the sexually experienced sample, this was 40%, 50%, and 57% for intention, and 23%, 29%, and 33% for consistency of condom use. Significant predictors of intention in the final model were gender, age, global self-efficacy and purchasing skills in the inexperienced sample, and global self-efficacy, emotion control, assertiveness, image confidence, and sexual control in the experienced sample, whereas gender, age, global self-efficacy, emotion control, assertiveness, and purchase predicted consistency of condom use in the experienced sample.

Conclusions: Condom use self-efficacy is a multidimensional construct. Intended and actual condom use in adolescents are best predicted by self-efficacy measures that include both global and relevant specific aspects of condom use.