Promiscuous or confident? Attitudinal ambivalence toward condom purchase

This research examined attitudes toward condom purchase. Recent evidence is mixed. While some studies show attitudes have become more positive, other studies suggest that negative attitudes still dominate. Our own research examined the possibility that such attitudes may be ambivalent, meaning that the same individuals may simultaneously hold both positive and negative beliefs about condom purchase. The results confirmed this prediction. Study I showed that condom purchase evoked a combination of both negative beliefs about lifestyles and positive beliefs concerning the personal confidence of the consumer. These beliefs had competing effects on more global attitudes toward condom purchase. Specific beliefs about condoms were shown to provide the best indication of whether participants actually used condoms. Study 2 employed standard measures of attitudinal ambivalence. The results conceptually replicated the finding that ambivalence was greater for those who purchased condoms compared to controls.