Purpose: Concern about HIV in adolescents and young adults has led a number of investigators to examine the link between drinking and risky behavior, including failure to use condoms. Most of the studies that conclude that this link exists have used global measures of both variables and have not investigated drinking and use of condoms on the same occasion. If drinking leads to low condom use, both behaviors must occur together and the failure to find that they do weakens the hypothesis that they are causally related.
Methods: Data from three separate studies on different adolescent and young adult populations are reported. In each study the relationship between drinking behavior and condom use at last intercourse was examined.
Results: Drinking was not related to lower condom use in any of the populations studied.
Conclusions: This negative result implies that the dis-inhibiting effect of alcohol is not a major factor in the failure of young adults to use condoms.
PIP: The use of alcohol is often cited as a potential precursor to risky behavior including intercourse with casual partners and unprotected sexual intercourse. Most studies which have concluded that a link exists between adolescent and young adult drinking and risky behavior, however, have used global measures of both variables and have not investigated drinking and condom use on the same occasion. If drinking leads to low levels of condom use, both behaviors must occur together. The failure to find that they do simply weakens the hypothesis that they are causally related. The authors report data from three studies on different adolescent and young adult populations, examining the reported relationship between drinking behavior and condom use at last intercourse. One study surveyed a computer-generated random sample of 1287 university undergraduates in the Fall of 1991. Responses were received from 708 students aged 16-62 of mean age 22.5 years. The same questionnaire was administered over the period February-October 1992 to a convenience sample of 369 students aged 16-60 years of mean age 29.9 years at technical and community colleges. Final study results are derived from responses to a questionnaire about HIV and condom use distributed Spring 1992 to 172 people aged 14-35 of mean age 17.7 attending an urban street fair. Each sample was overwhelmingly white and self-reported heterosexual. 58%, 81%, and 65% of the first, second, and third studies, respectively, were female. Survey responses indicate that drinking was not related to lower condom use in any of the populations studied. This finding implies that the inhibiting effect of alcohol is not a major factor in the failure of young adults to use condoms.