Open AccessAssociation between condom use and perspectives on contraceptive responsibility in different sexual relationships among sexually active college students in China
Author(s) -
Long Lü,
Yutong Han,
Longxia Tong,
Zhenhua Chen
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.59
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1536-5964
pISSN - 0025-7974
DOI - 10.1097/md.0000000000013879
Subject(s) - condom , medicine , casual , demography , reproductive health , family planning , family medicine , china , population , gynecology , environmental health , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , research methodology , materials science , syphilis , sociology , political science , law , composite material
China has increasing incidence of unplanned pregnancies among college students these years. Increasing students’ sense of responsibility to protect sexual partners may help reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to students from 3 colleges in Sichuan, China. Among them, 559 of male students and 267 of female students were included in this study. The questionnaire collected participants’ characteristics, usage of condom, and investigated male and female students’ perceptions of who should be responsible for contraception use. We found that relationship status was closely related to students perceiving responsibility for reproductive health and condom using. Male students who were in casual relationships during their most recent sexual encounter and shared responsibility for contraception were more likely to use condoms than other male students ( P < .001). Female students who were in steady relationships during their most recent sexual encounter and shared responsibility for contraception were more likely to use condoms than other female students ( P = .007). The multivariate analysis revealed condom use was associated with greater odds of sharing responsibility for contraceptive use in different types of sexual relationships. Improving students’ attitudes toward responsibility for contraception may increase condom use among students at risk for unplanned pregnancies. Programs providing targeted health education and services may help reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies among students in China.