The examination of safe sex message appeals, sex, and emotional responses on college students’ condom use attitudes, intentions, and self-efficacy

Abstract

Inconsistency in the sexual risk prevention literature indicated that there was a need for additional research identifying factors that will increase safe sex behaviors; particularly, condom use, in young adults. The present study attempted to expand the sexual risk prevention literature by examining the impact of different safe sex advertisements and biological sex on the condom use attitudes, condom use intentions, condom use self-efficacy, negative and positive emotional responses of young adults as well as explore the influence of negative and positive emotional responses on the condom use attitudes, condom use intentions, and condom use self-efficacy of young adults. Five hypotheses were examined using a sample of 203 young adults. MANOVA and regression analyses were conducted to examine the study hypotheses. There was partial support for Hypotheses 1 and 3; indicating that female participants reported more positive condom use attitudes than male participants, participants in the negative emotional advertisement and positive emotional advertisement groups reported more positive condom use attitudes than those in the rational advertisement group, and that the negative emotion of guilt was related to condom use attitudes. Hypotheses 2, 4, and 5 were not upheld. Overall, the present study results provide some support for the influence of biological sex, advertisement type, and guilt on the condom use attitudes of young adults. The need to explore different safe sex advertisement formats and more diverse samples of young adults was discussed, including implications and recommendations for future research.