| Abstract: | 8% of all individuals residing in the US have tested positive for infection with HIV. This study reports the use of condoms and others forms of contraception in two samples of students from East Carolina University. 234 students in 1982 taking a course in marriage and family responded to a 32-item questionnaire distributed in five classes on whether they had used contraception during their most recent episode of sexual intercourse and which method they used. 96% of the respondents were never married, 83% white, and 82% middle class. 7% were engaged to be married and 3% were cohabiting. 53.4% were women and in their junior or senior year (52.5%) of undergraduate education. While the sample was not random, it closely approximated the demographic characteristics of the university from which it was drawn. 79.1% reported using some form of contraception, with 61.8% using the pill and 15.3% using the condom. Of those who used a form of contraception, 8.1% reported using withdrawal and 1.5% rhythm. Fifty university students were again sampled in 1992 in a marriage and family class to find 76% reporting use of contraception during their last episode of sexual intercourse. The percentage of students which reported using a condom, however, increased to 39%. These findings add to the body of research literature which suggests that condom use has increased over the past decade. Further research is, however, warranted to determine whether these data reflect an actual increase in condom use or are simply the result of students providing socially desirable answers. |
