Condom Use at First Intercourse with a New Partner in Female Adolescents and Young Adults: The Role of Cognitive Planning and Motives for Having Sex

This study examined the extent to which cognitive planning and motives for sex can explain condom use at first intercourse with young females' most recent partner. A total of 133 female adolescents completed a questionnaire on cognitive planning (i.e., mentally preparing oneself for discussing condom use and for managing condoms), motives for having sex (i.e., having sex to express love, to experience pleasure, to enhance mood, and to please others), and condom use at this particular occasion. Logistic regression analyses showed that condom use was positively related to cognitive planning with respect to discussing condom use and negatively related to the motive for having sex to enhance mood. Cognitive planning for the management of condoms did not have a significant overall effect on condom use, but it did appear to be very effective for those adolescents who had a low score on the motive for having sex to express love. It thus appears useful to strengthen the skills of adolescents to discuss the use of condoms. Furthermore, stressing the negative affective consequences of unsafe sex may be particularly effective for those who are inclined to have sex to enhance mood, while encouraging adolescents to make plans for the management of condoms is likely to positively affect the use of condoms among those who are not primarily motivated to express love by having sex.