Getting your partner to use condoms: Interviews with men and women at risk of HIV/STDs

• Published in: The Journal of sex research Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 233 - 240
• Main Authors: Bird, Sheryl Thorburn, Harvey, S. Marie, Beckman, Linda J., Johnson, Christa H., The PARTNERS Project
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Taylor & Francis Group 01.08.2001; Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Condoms; Couples; Health risk assessment; Heterosexual relationships; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Partners; Prevention; Sexual behavior; Sexually transmitted diseases; Strategies
• ISSN: 0022-4499; 1559-8519
• DOI: 10.1080/00224490109552092

Data from individual semistructured interviews with 90 young heterosexual couples were analyzed to identify strategies that men and women at risk of HIV/STDs would use to influence their partners to use condoms for the purpose of disease prevention. In addition, we explored whether participants thought influencing strategies would differ for pregnancy prevention. Content analysis of the interview data indicated that participants would use the following verbal strategies: persuading/suggesting, commanding/asserting, and threatening to withhold sex. Several participants, particularly those who had recently used condoms with their partners, reported that they would also use non-verbal strategies involving condoms themselves (e.g., putting a condom on, buying or getting condoms, or presenting a condom to their partner). Many participants believed that they would use a different strategy for pregnancy prevention because it would be easier to convince a partner to use condoms for that purpose.