The association between condom use self-efficacy and condom-decision abdication among college students

Objective Condomless sex and its related consequences are a persistent problem on college campuses in the United States. This study aimed to examine the association between condom use self-efficacy and condom-decision abdication among college students, and whether this association was moderated by gender. Participants & methods Undergraduate college students (N = 212; 50.5% female) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk as part of a larger online study that examined normative feedback for condom use. Results The association between condom use self-efficacy and condom-decision abdication was significantly moderated by gender (B = -0.07, p < .001), such that condom use self-efficacy was associated with condom-decision abdication in college women (B = -0.05, p < .005) but not in college men (B = .02, p = .18). Conclusion Findings from this study suggest that condom use self-efficacy may be an important intervention target for promoting condom use.