Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

1213

Date

2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology

Concentration

Clinical Psychology

Committee Member

Kristoffer S Berlin

Committee Member

Latrice C Pichon

Committee Member

James L Klosky

Abstract

Young people account for 50% of new cases of sexually transmitted infections, but they continue to use condoms inconsistently. Theoretically, intentions determine behavior. However, research suggests that there is an intentions-condom use gap. This study attempted to examine how interrelations among factors influence the intentions-condom use association. A diverse sample of young adults (N = 337, 74.70% female) completed online baseline and one-month follow-up surveys. Latent class mixture modeling revealed four classes of sexual risk with a casual partner: high-risk (29.60%), low-risk (40.19%), sexual assault (17.13%), and assertive (13.08%) classes. Analyses revealed six classes of sexual risk with a relationship partner: high-risk (43.54%), low-risk (16.52%), intimate partner violence (IPV; 9.31%), assertive (8.71%), low PTS (8.12%), and high substance use (13.81%) classes. Overall, there was a significant correlation between intentions and condom use with a causal partner (n = 57, r = .55, p < .01) and relationship partner (n = 169, r = .86, p < .001). The intentions-condom use association was stronger for relationship partners than for casual partners (z = 4.31, p < .001). There was a significant association between class membership and condom use, such that those in both high-risk classes (ps < .05) reported the lowest rate of condom use. Findings also revealed complex associations among substance use, IPV, sexual assault, and condom negotiation. These findings have implications for interventions that target young adults who are at risk for engaging in unprotected sex, especially those with a history of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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