Skip to main content
Log in

Adolescent Relationships and Condom Use: Trust, Love and Commitment

  • Published:
AIDS and Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Research indicates that people use condoms less often with a regular sexual partner than with a casual partner because they believe condoms are not needed. This article reports qualitative findings from four group meetings and 11 in-depth interviews in which sexually experienced inner-city adolescents aged 14–17 talked about their sexual relationships. Three types of relationships were described: messing, for sex only; boy-girlfriend, a more intense relationship, and “hubby–wifey,” which mimics marriage. The four types of relationships differ along four analytic dimensions, which give them meaning: future commitment; public vs. secret; expectation of monogamy; and degree of affection and love. Decisions about condom use are influenced by these dimensions which may be underestimated in theoretical models that focus on individuals, not couples.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, R., Laursen, B., and Wilder, D. (2001). Characteristics of closeness in adolescent romantic relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 24, 353–363.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, L., and Adair, E. (1992). The use of ethnographic interviewing to inform questionnaire construction. Health Education Quarterly, 19, 9–23.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B., Feiring, C., and Furman, W. (1999). Missing the love boat: Why researchers have shied away from adolescent romance. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, and C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 1–16). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B. (1999). “You’re going out with who?” Peer group influences on adolescent romantic relationships. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, and C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 291–329). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catania, J. A., Gibson, D. R., Chitwood, D. D., and Coates, T. J. (1990) Methodological problems in AIDS behavioral research: Influences on measurement error and participation bias in studies of sexual behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 339–62.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • CDC. (2003). STD Surveillance 2000 (Centers for Disease Control Prevention).

  • CDC. (2004). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2003. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 53, SS04, 1–96.

  • CDC. (1999). Youth Risk Behavior Survey. software.

  • Cohen, D., Scribner, R., Bedimo, R., and Farley, T. (1999). Cost as a barrier to condom use: The evidence for condom subsidies in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 567–568.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W., and Laursen, B. (2000). Adolescent relationships: The art of fugue. In C. Hendrick and S. S. Hendrick (Eds.), Close Relationships (pp. 59–69). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connolly, J., and Goldberg, A. (1999). Romantic relationships in adolescence: The role of friends and peers in their emergence and development. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, and C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 266–290). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Detzer, M., Wendt, S., Solomon, L., Dorsch, E., Geller, B., and Friedman, J. (1995). Barriers to condom use among women attending Planned Parenthood Clinics. Women and Health, 23(1), 91–102.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eldridge, G., St. Lawrence, J., Little, C., Shelby, M., and Brasfield, T. (1995). Barriers to condom use and barrier method preferences among low-income African-American women. Women and Health, 23, 73–89.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ellen, J. M., Cahn, S., Eyre, S. L., and Boyer, C. B. (1996). Types of adolescent sexual relationships and associated perceptions about condom use. Journal of Adolescent Health, 18, 417–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feiring, C. (1996). Concepts of romance in 15-year-old adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 6, 181–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, K., and Norris, A. (1994). Urban minority youth: Alcohol and marijuana use and exposure to unprotected intercourse. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Human Retrovirology, 7, 389–96.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fortenberry, J. (1995). Adolescent substance use and sexually transmitted diseases risk: A review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 16, 304–308.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fortenberry, J., Tu, W., Harezlak, J., Katz, B., and Orr, D. (2002). Condom use as a function of time in new and established adolescent sexual relationships. American Journal of Public Health, 92, 211–213.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, S., Flom, P., Kottiri, B., Neaigus, A., Sandoval, M., Curtis, R., Des Jarlais, D., and Zenilman, J. (2001). Consistent condom use in the heterosexual relationships of young adults who live in a high-HIV-risk neighborhood and do not use hard drugs. AIDS Care, 13, 285–296.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Furman, W., and Wehner, E. (1994). Romantic views: Toward a theory of adolescent romantic relationships. In R. Montemayor, G. Adams, and T. Gullotta (Eds.), Personal relationships during adolescence. (pp. 168–195). Advances in Adolescent Development, Vol. 6. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S., Jackson, A., Lavin, J., Briton, P., and Shepard, J. (1993). Safer sex knowledge, behavior, and attitudes of inner-city women. Health Psychology, 12, 481–488.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, B., Fortenberry, J., Zimet, G., Blythe, M., and Orr, D. (2000). Partner-specific relationship characteristics and condom use among young people with sexually transmitted diseases. Journal of Sex Research, 37, 69–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kline, A., and VanLandingham, M. (1994). HIV-infected women and sexual risk reduction: The relevance of existing models of behavior change. AIDS Education and Prevention, 6, 390–402.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kotchick, B., Shaffer, A., Forehand, R., and Miller, K. (2001). Adolescent sexual risk behavior: A multi-system perspective. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 493–519.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ku, L., Sonenstein, F., and Pleck, J. (1994). The dynamics of young men’s condom use during and across relationships. Family Planning Perspectives, 26, 246–251.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Libbus, K. (1995). Women’s beliefs concerning condom acquisition and use. Public Health Nursing, 12, 341–347.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laursen, B., and Williams, V. (1997). Perceptions of interdependence and closeness in family and peer relationships among adolescents with and without romantic partners. In S. Shulman and W. Collins (Eds.), Romantic relationships in adolescence: Developmental perspectives. (pp. 3–20). New directions for child development, 78. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macaluso, M., Demand, M., Artz, L., and Hook, E. (2000). Partner type and condom use. AIDS, 14, 537–546.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, N., Wells, G., Fisher, W., Warren, W., King, M., Doherty, J. (1990). High-risk STD/HIV behavior among college students. Journal of the American Medical Association, 263, 3155–3159.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney, C., Thombs, D., and Ford, O. (1995). Health belief and self-efficacy models: Their utility in explaining college student condom use. AIDS Education and Prevention, 7, 32–49.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marin, B., Gomez, C., and Tschann, J. (1993). Condom use among Hispanic men with secondary female sexual partners. Public Health Reports, 108(6), 742–750.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, B., and Benson, B. (1999). Romantic and sexual relationship development during adolescence. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, and C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 99–124). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millstein, S., and Moscicki, A. (1995). Sexually-transmitted disease in female adolescents: Effects of psychosocial factors and high risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 17, 83–90.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Misovich, S., Fisher, J., and Fisher, W. (1997). Close relationships and elevated HIV risk behavior: Evidence and possible underlying psychological processes. Review of General Psychology, 1, 72–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, K., Miller, B., Glei, D., and Morrison, D. (1995). Adolescent sex, contraception, and childbearing: A review of recent research. Child Trends, Inc: Washington, D.C.

  • Murphy, J., and Borgess, S. (1998). Increased condom use among teenage males, 1988–1995: The role of attitudes. Family Planning Perspectives, 30, 276–280.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Norris, A. E., and Ford, K. (1999, Jan). Sexual experiences and condom use of heterosexual, low-income African American and Hispanic youth practicing relative monogamy, serial monogamy, and nonmonogamy. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 26, 17–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plichta, S., Weisman, C., Nathanson, C., Ensminger, M., and Robinson, J. (1992). Partner-specific condom use among adolescent women clients of a family planning clinic. Journal of Adoloescent Health, 13, 506–511.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, D., Gifford, S., and Moore, S. (1998). Safe sex or safe love: Competing discourses? AIDS Care, 10, 35–47.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sacco, W., Levine, B., and Reed, D. (1991). Attitudes about condom use as an AIDS-relevant behavior: Their factor structure and relation to condom use. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 3, 265–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, S., and Kipnis, O. (2001). Adolescent romantic relationships: A look from the future. Journal of Adolescence, 24, 337–351.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, S., and Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2001). Adolescent romance: Between experience and relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 24, 417–428.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stiffman, A., Dore, P., and Cunningham, R. (1994). Inner-city youths and condom use: Health beliefs, clinic care, welfare, and the HIV-epidemic. Adolescence, 29(116), 805–820.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tashakkori, A., and Teddlie, C. (2002). Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioral research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wendt, S., and Solomon, L. (1995). Barriers to condom use among heterosexual male and female college students. Journal of the American College Health Association, 44, 105–110.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laurie J. Bauman Ph.D..

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bauman, L.J., Berman, R. Adolescent Relationships and Condom Use: Trust, Love and Commitment. AIDS Behav 9, 211–222 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-3902-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-3902-2

Key words

Navigation