Study shows why teens may not use condoms

Social expectations of how men and women should behave may influence why young people do not use condoms, research has suggested.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine examined 268 studies of the sexual behaviour of under-25-year-olds from South Africa to Sweden.

The study, which was published in The Lancet, discovered "striking similarities" in the influences on young people's sexual behaviour across the world.

The review found that young women often felt that their reputation would be sullied if they carried condoms, while young men often felt pressured into having sex when they got the opportunity, whether they had a condom or not.

The report also found that young people around the world find it hard to even discuss the possibility of sex with potential partners, which makes it difficult to plan condom use.

Researchers also said that other common themes included a tendency to try and guess the HIV status of potential partners using unreliable indicators such as an individual's appearance, or how well they know them. The study suggested that young people were less likely to use condoms if they guessed that their partner was 'clean'.

Dr Cicely Marston, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that the review showed why many campaigns to encourage safer sex had failed. She said: "Giving out condoms and information is vital, but it is not enough. Even where young people know about the importance of condoms, social factors - in particular, stereotypes about how men and women should behave and a reluctance to talk openly about sex - hamper their use. Safer sex campaigns need to tackle these issues if they are to succeed."

(KMcA)