Abstract
BackgroundHigh prevalence of risky sexual behaviors and lack of information, skills and preventive support mean that, adolescents face high risks of HIV/AIDS. This study applied the information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) model to examine the predictors of consistent condom use among senior high school students from three coastal cities in China and clarify the relationships between the model constructs.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to assess HIV/AIDS related information, motivation, behavioral skills and preventive behaviors among senior high school students in three coastal cities in China. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess the IMB model.ResultsOf the 12313 participants, 4.5% (95% CI: 4.2–5.0) reported having had premarital sex and among them 25.0% (95% CI: 21.2–29.1) reported having used a condom in their sexual debut. Only about one–ninth of participants reported consistent condom use. The final IMB model provided acceptable fit to the data (CFI = 0.981, RMSEA = 0.014). Consistent condom use was significantly predicted by motivation (β = 0.175, P < 0.01) and behavioral skills (β = 0.778, P < 0.01). Information indirectly predicted consistent condom use, and was mediated by behavioral skills (β = 0.269, P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe results highlight the importance of conducting HIV/AIDS preventive health promotion among senior high school students in China. The IMB model could predict consistent condom use and suggests that future interventions should focus on improving motivation and behavioral skills.
Highlights
High prevalence of risky sexual behaviors and lack of information, skills and preventive support mean that, adolescents face high risks of HIV/AIDS
Our research found that 4.5% of senior high school students reported having had premarital sex, which resembles the findings of a national sample of urban adolescents in China conducted in 2010 [14]
Our study focuses on the ability of the information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) model to predict HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors among senior high school students
Summary
High prevalence of risky sexual behaviors and lack of information, skills and preventive support mean that, adolescents face high risks of HIV/AIDS. This study applied the information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) model to examine the predictors of consistent condom use among senior high school students from three coastal cities in China and clarify the relationships between the model constructs. A recent study that surveyed 109,754 students in grades 10–12 and 33,653 college students found that over 4.8% of senior high school students and 11.3% of college students reported having experienced sexual intercourse, while their rate of condom use was below 30%, making them extremely vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and pregnancy [14]. Information about the predictors of condom use among young Chinese people, especially senior high school students, is very limited because traditional Chinese culture typically regards sex as obscene and immoral [15]
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