# Predictors of Condom Use among Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis

> **NIH NIH R03** · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · 2022 · $76,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Adolescents, defined as young people between the ages of 10 to 19, are highly vulnerable to HIV and other
STDs and also more likely than adults to have poor outcomes along the HIV care continuum. Although there
have been substantial advances in HIV prevention and treatment strategies, condoms remain the most
accessible and cost-effective HIV and STD prevention tool for sexually active adolescents. Further, condoms
are the only prevention method that can both reduce the transmission of HIV/STDs and prevent unintended
pregnancy. Yet, U.S. data show only 54% of sexually active adolescents used a condom at last intercourse,
and rates are similarly low in many other parts of the world. It is critical that we understand the factors that
most strongly predict condom use so that they may be targeted to increase condom use among adolescents.
The purpose of this R03 project is to meta-analyze the literature on adolescent sexual health to identify the
strongest psychosocial predictors of condom use among contemporary youth. While a similar meta-analysis
was conducted by Sheeran and colleagues in 1999, only 30 of 121 studies in this study focused on
adolescents, the study was limited to heterosexual individuals, and results are now over 20 years old.
Adolescence is a unique developmental period, whereby youth are undergoing rapid neurobiological, physical,
emotional, and sexual changes and beginning to negotiate romantic and sexual relationships. Thus, the factors
that are most predictive of condom use for adults may not be the same as those that predict condom use for
adolescents. Further, in the past two decades, sizeable sociocultural changes and technological advances
have shifted the sexual landscape for adolescents. In Aim 1, we will perform an up-to-date meta-analysis
to identify the strongest psychosocial predictors of condom use among adolescents (mean age < 19).
We will focus on 50 psychosocial variables organized within the three theory-based stages of the AIDS Risk
Reduction Model: labeling stage (e.g., HIV/STD knowledge, threat appraisal, sex education); commitment
stage (e.g., use of other biomedical HIV prevention measures, purpose of condom use, partner attitudes, self-
efficacy); and enactment stage (condom availability, partner sexual communication). We also include several
demographic factors (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, SES, religiosity), personality traits (e.g., impulsivity, emotion-
regulation), and contextual factors (e.g., IPV, substance use) that may affect adolescents’ condom use. Then
in Aim 2, we will examine several potential moderators of the relationship between the identified
psychosocial variables and condom use. Specifically, we will examine if the associations differ based on
demographic characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual identity) or methodological characteristics
(research design, study year). In addition, we will assess study quality and risk of bias to highlight the biases,
strengths...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10451218
- **Project number:** 1R03HD105784-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Laura M. Widman
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $76,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-06 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10451218

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10451218, Predictors of Condom Use among Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis (1R03HD105784-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10451218. Licensed CC0.

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