Women Bar Drinkers’ Discussions About Birth Control and Risky Sexual Behavior

Abstract

This study evaluated how birth control discussions prior to sexual activity affected condom use in a sample of 225 young women bar drinkers. The use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) and partner type also were assessed. Data were collected through daily reports and qualitative interviews over 12 weeks. A total of 1671 sexual events were reported (M = 7.4 events per participant), of which 64.7% (n = 1081) did not involve condom use. Discussions of birth control occurred prior to 10.9% (n = 183) of all sexual events. These discussions were more likely to be initiated by the woman and to occur when AOD had been used. Thematic analysis revealed four common themes: confirmation of the need to use condoms, confirmation of oral/hormonal contraceptive use, use of sufficient birth control, and discrepant condom use. The discussions reduced rates of risky sex when the sexual partner was more intimate (i.e., boyfriend/dating partner), regardless of AOD use and when the sexual partner was a friend or ex-partner and no AOD were used. The thematic analysis suggested that pregnancy prevention was a stronger motivation for discussing condom use, rather than risk of contracting an STI. Given the substantial rate of high risk partners, history of STIs, and limited amount of time women reported knowing “regular” partners, we suggest that interventions designed to reduce risky sex should be tailored to increase women’s awareness of STI and pregnancy risk when under the influence of AOD, and promote condom use regardless of partner type.