Differences between men and women in condom use, attitudes, and skills in substance abuse treatment seekers.

For substance abuse treatment seekers engaging in high risk sexual behavior, their inconsistent condom use may be related to their condom use attitudes and skills. This study compared treatment-seeking male and female substance abusers in their reported barriers to condom use and condom use skills. Men and women (N = 1,105) enrolled in two multi-site HIV risk reduction studies in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN-0018 and CTN-0019) were administered the Condom Barriers Scale, Condom Use Skills, and an audio computer-assisted structured interview assessing sexual risk behavior. Men endorsed more barriers to condom use, especially on the Effects on Sexual Experience factor. For both men and women, stronger endorsement of barriers to condom use was associated with less use of condoms. However, the difference between condom users and non-users in endorsement of condom barriers in general is greater for men than women, especially for those who report having casual partners.

Conclusions: Results provide additional information about the treatment and prevention needs of treatment-seeking men and women. Understanding differences between men and women in their beliefs, knowledge, and skills related to condom use will allow clinicians to better tailor risk behavior interventions. These results also emphasize that it is important for clinicians to remember that both men and women engage in risky sexual behavior despite being actively involved in substance abuse treatment.

Related protocols: CTN-0018, CTN-0019