International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 19, Number 2 > Pp. 90-93

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLES

Slips, breaks and ‘falls’: condom errors and problems reported by men attending an STD clinic

Richard Crosby PhD ^*   , William L Yarber HSD   , Stephanie A Sanders PhD   ^¶, Cynthia A Graham PhD   ^# and Janet N Arno MD  ^||

^* College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA; Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention; The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction; Department of Applied Health Science; ^¶ Department of Gender Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA; ^# Oxford Doctoral Course in Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; ^|| Department of Infectious Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

Correspondence to: Richard Crosby, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, 121 Washington Ave, Lexington, KY 40506-0003, USA Email: crosby{at}uky.edu

The objective was to comprehensively assess the prevalence of condom-use errors and problems among male clients attending a public sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic. Men (n = 278) attending an STD clinic completed an anonymous questionnaire. Seven errors and six problems were assessed. Summative scores were tested for associations with three key variables. Of 834 condom-protected events: 19% were associated with ‘fit and feel’ problems, 15% involved breakage, 14% involved lost erection, 9% were associated with lost erection while applying condoms, 8% involved slippage during withdrawal and 7% involved slippage during sex. A mean of 6.4 errors/problems were observed. None of these summative variables (total errors, total problems or total of errors and problems) were significantly associated with age, minority status or whether men indicated they had ever been taught how to use condoms. Multiple types of condom-use errors and problems may be highly prevalent among high-risk men attending public STD clinics.

Key Words: condoms • men • sexually transmitted diseases • prevention • sexual behaviour

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