Predicting intentions to use condoms among African-American adolescents: the theory of planned behavior as a model of HIV risk-associated behavior

Abstract

The relation of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control to intentions to use condoms was examined among 179 adolescents who completed a confidential self-administered questionnaire prior to participating in a minority youth health conference. Approximately 72% of the adolescents were African Americans. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that attitudes and subjective norms predicted intentions to use condoms and that, consistent with the theory of planned behavior, perceived behavioral control added a significant increment to the squared multiple correlation. Although adolescents' perceptions of their friends' approval of condom use was unrelated to their condom-use intentions, adolescents' behavioral beliefs about the effects of condoms on sexual enjoyment, normative beliefs regarding partners' and mothers' approval, and control beliefs regarding technical skill at using condoms were associated with such intentions. These results suggest the utility of the theory of planned behavior as a model of condom use among adolescents. Implications for HIV risk-reduction interventions are discussed.