Adolescent Condom Use and Perceptions of Risk for Sexually Transmitted Diseases

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The authors' previous research has shown that in cross-sectional analysis, partner-specific perceptions of risk for gonorrhea and chlamydial and HIV infection correlated with partner-specific intentions to use condoms. The goal was to determine whether partner-specific measures of perception of risk for STDs (PRSTD) predict partner-specific condom use 6 months later among high-risk and low-risk youth. Youths aged 14 to 19 years were recruited from an STD clinic (n = 236) and an HMO teen clinic (n = 306) and were interviewed at baseline and at 6 months about PRSTD, attitudes about condoms, self-efficacy, normative expectations, and condom use. PRSTD with a main sex partner was an independent predictor of condom use with a main sex partner in the STD clinic cohort (odds ratio = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.1-6.2). There was no association between PRSTD with a casual sex partner and condom use in this cohort or between PRSTD for main or casual sex partners and condom use in the HMO teen clinic cohort. Interventions that target high-risk adolescents should focus on PRSTD with a main sex partner.