Safe Sex Term paper

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Many theories and much research has been conducted on contraception in general,

and more recently on condoms in particular, as a result of the AIDS epidemic

(Lear, 1995). Condom usage and AIDS education are essential tools for reducing

the impact of the disease, yet fewer than one third of sexually active college

students report consistent condom use (Seal & Palmer-Seal, 1996). It seems

that sexually active individuals rarely discuss safer sex or ask about their

partner`s sexual activity before engaging in sexual activity (Seal &

Palmer-Seal, 1996). This raises some questions as to the origin of the avoidance

of safer sex discussion. It has been found that the interpersonal reactions of

sexual partners, rather than the less direct thoughts of AIDS risk, influence

attitudes towards condoms and condom usage (Casteneda & Collins, 1995).

These personal interactions among partners in a sexual relationship are a result

of attitudes each partner carries about sex, contraception and a sexual

relationship itself. Attitudes can be ascertained by means of person perception

evaluations, which present the behaviors of a target person (e.g., introducing a

condom) and categorize the social meanings imposed on the actor within the

situation (Castenada & Collins, 1995). In order to accurately evaluate the

social meanings within a sexual relationship using a person perception paradigm,

the paradigm itself, as well as the communication patterns about the

relationship and condom usage must be assessed. Person Perception Paradigm and

This Study The efficacy of the person perception paradigm for accurately

gathering the social meanings implied by certain actions has been proven in past

research (Collins & Brief, 1995). It has been ascertained that target

subject`s behaviors within a vignette are the foundation for impressions the

participants form about the social meanings of actions. Collins and Brief have

gone on to argue that the vignette methodology is better able to collect the

social meanings derived from actions than interview questions, because often

impressions that are formed about another`s actions are not conscious attitude

formations. Behavior interpretation often occur through automatic and intuitive

means (Collins, 1997; lecture). While most research directly asks participants

what they think, person perception studies a more subtle means of gaining the

participants reactions. The current study used a person perception test to

evaluate the attitudes of participants about women in a sexual relationship when

she either proposed a condom, or said nothing about contraception, while

expressing either concern or saying nothing about her emotional state. There

were four different possible types of situations that the male observers could

have been given: the concerned female who did not propose a condom, the

concerned female who said, I have a condom with me, the female who said nothing

and did not propose a condom, and the female who said nothing about her

emotional state, but said she had a condom with her. These females were then

evaluated by male observers on various aspects of her perceived personality.

Males rated the females on such items as, if they were active or passive, if

they were promiscuous or not, etc. No other research has addressed a sexual

situation where women talk about their feelings and present a condom in a person

perception paradigm. It will be interesting to see how the male participants

assess the situation. This study used six different scales comprised of separate

items in order to accurately assess the perceptions the male observers held

about the female targets. The scales were a Sexual attractiveness scale, which

determined how sexually attractive the woman was, a Responsibility scale, which

determined the extent to which the woman was responsible, a Takes Charge scale,

which assessed the male observer`s ideas about how active the women in the

situations were and two other scales which assessed how Nice and Exciting the

woman was. It is hypothesized that there will be high correlations between the

separate items within each of these scales, which indicates that the items will

be measuring similar properties. But there will be low correlations between any

two scales and between any items and a separate scale, which will indicate that

the scales were measuring different attributes. Past Research on the Person

Perception Paradigm Past research has found that people do make judgments based

on the contraceptive choices that target persons choose and the conditions they

have made the choices under, concerning abortion decisions (Allgeier, Allgeier

& Rywick, 1979: as cited in McKinney et al., 1987). It has also been found

that contraceptive behavior is evaluated differently by an outside observer that

is exposed to a vignette depicting a sexual situation involving issues of

contraception, and personal attitudes of the target subject, such as the one

tested in this study (McKinney et al., 1987). Other studies have evaluated the

person perception design within partners involved in a sexual relationship

(Lear, 1995), and have found that people within relationships also rate their

partners actions as indicative of symbolic meanings, similar to results obtained

from observers of sexual relationship vignettes. This type of symbolic inference

has been tested in the current study. Impressions that people form of others are

based on the others actions and language they use within a social situation. In

the current study, the participants are not told what actions are taken by the

target persons within the scenario concerning contraception use, only the target

woman▓s verbal discourse is disclosed (i.e. the participants don▓t

know if she did what she said, only what she said). Therefore it is important to

evaluate communication within a sexual relationship in order to accurately

assess what the social meanings of communication in a relationships are, and

what attitudes others have about this discourse is. Communication Within The

Sexual Relationship Communication involves an assessment of shared ideas and

beliefs - - what is and is not agreed upon by the participants (Schlenker &

Weigold, 1992). One▓s audience influences the style and manner in which

one communicates - - who one▓s partner is influences how and what one says

to that partner (Schlenker & Weigold, 1992). How these communication tactics

are manifested in an early sexual relationship is relevant to the current study

because of the content of its scenario. It seems that within early sexual

relationships ambiguity around sexual communication is the norm (Lear, 1995).

Perhaps because the situation is not very established or familiar, safer sex

discussion usually consists of general discussion about concerns not related to

the particular relationship itself (Cline et al., 1992: as cited in Seal &

Palmer-Seal, 1996). Directness of approach on the subject of subject of sex

usually involves the male partner within a heterosexual relationship more often

than the female in early romantic situations (Lear, 1995). It will be

interesting to see how the male respondents rate a female who expresses concern

about the sexual situation, as compared to a female target who says nothing

about her emotional state. I hypothesize that the female who expresses concern

will be seen as more nice than the one who says nothing, but not very exciting.

She will be seen as responsible, but not that sexually attractive, and finally

as taking charge in the situation. Since sexual decision making is dependent on

open communication within a sexual relationship, which is not often found within

the dating stages of young, college age students (Lear, 1995), condom usage is

often conducted under constrained choices and may be hindered. This type of

inhibited discourse that is typical of early sexual relationships is reflected

in this ⌠concern■ scenario of the experiment, and is hypothesized to

elicit mixed responses. Attitudes Towards Condoms Attitudes and self-perceptions

about condom use can be approached in a behavioral way. Are attitudes about

condoms acted upon because of previous self-perceptions or do people who use

condoms adopt the attitudes that are associated with condom usage? An evaluation

of smoking sheds some light on this question. It seems that people begin to

smoke because it correlates to a pre-existing set of self-relevant beliefs (Chassin

et al., 1981). If this is also true of condom usage behaviors, then it follows

that people who think condoms and safer sex are a good idea will follow-through

and use them, but that people who do not have positive attitudes towards condoms

are not likely to gain them through usage of condoms. The idea of attitudes

affecting behaviors relates to this study, because what is being assessed is the

attitudes men have about female target▓s sexual behavior. The men will see

the woman who introduces a condom as having attitudes that are sympathetic to

condom usage. What exactly these attitudes are will be investigated. Risk

Perception Attitudes towards condoms often depend on the perceived risk of

contracting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases as well a

person▓s perceived self-efficacy in proposing them (van der Pligt &

Richard, 1994). For example, most sexually active adolescents do not feel

susceptible towards AIDS (van der Pligt & Richard, 1994) and therefore do

not use condoms in their social interactions. The factor of low perceived risk

is recurrent and pervasive across many sexually active groups (Lear, 1995). If

the sexually active individual does not perceive themselves as at risk for

sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, they are not very likely to use

condoms to have safer sex. If a person does see themselves as at risk for

sexually transmitted diseases other▓s perceptions of them may be different

than the perception of someone who does not think they are at risk. While it is

true that every person who is sexually active has the potential to contract a

sexually transmitted disease, this is not often recognized by sexually active

youth (Lear, 1995). Since young people often do not recognize the pervasiveness

of the problem, they may judge people who are aware of their susceptibility as

more promiscuous or in a negative light as compared to those that do not discuss

the topic of safer sex (and presumably do not bring it up because they

don▓t think they are at risk, i.e., they do not engage in sexually risky

behavior such as multiple partners). In this study, the idea of perceived risk

as presented by the female target (⌠I have a condom with me■) to the

male observers may influence their perceptions of the women. Specifically, women

who say that they have a condom with them will be perceived as more sexually

appealing, more responsible, less nice, more exciting and more ⌠takes

charge■ than the woman who does not offer a condom. Thus, women who

present condoms will be seen as more susceptible to sexually transmitted

diseases, which incurs various impressions about her personality - ones that are

different from the impressions formed by a woman who does not present a condom.

The difference between the two perceptions that men make about women who propose

condoms may be for reasons other than their perceptions of ⌠at risk■

individuals as well. Sexual Double Standard Another area that may affect how men

perceive women who propose condoms as compared to those that do not, may be a

result of a double standard. A double standard allows men to have more sexual

freedom than women. A modern adaptation of the traditional idea of the double

standard is the idea of the conditional double standard (Reiss, 1967: as cited

in Sprecher & McKinney, 1993). This standard says that men can engage in any

type of premarital sex, but that women can only engage in sex if they are in a

love relationship. Since the current study presents a sexual encounter that is

relatively new and does not specify that it is a love relationship, observers

will infer that it is not a love relationship, but more of a recreational sexual

encounter. The actions that the woman in the situation exhibits may create a

more negative view of her when she does not present a condom, than when she

does. For, although the woman in engaging in premarital sex in a casual

relationship, the woman who openly supplies a condom in this situation may be

seen as more comfortable with this type of situation than a woman who does not

offer a condom and therefore she will be evaluated as more sexual and less

⌠nice.■ These results have been found in another study which showed

that women who carried condoms with them held a stigma: they were associated

with evaluations of worthlessness (Wight, 1992; as cited in Lear, 1995). Having

a condom indicates a lack of sexual innocence, which has been perceived as

unfeminine (Lear, 1995). Lear encompassed the broad effect condom usage has on

personal perceptions of the self and others who use condoms, when she observed

that, ⌠condoms carry meanings that can differ for each sexual partner and

over time, and these meanings are illustrative of the gendered nature of

responsibility and what is considered appropriate behavior in contraception and

safer sex■ (p.1314). In summary, the purpose of this study is to assess

what impressions are formed by male participants about female targets who

express concern and propose condoms in a sexual situation. It is predicted that

a female who expresses concern will be seen as more nice, less exciting, more

responsible, less sexually attractive, and more actively involved than the

female who says nothing. Another hypothesized result of the current study is

that a female who says she has a condom with her will be seen as less nice, more

exciting, more responsible, more sexually appealing, and more ⌠takes

charge■ than the woman who says nothing. Implicit in these prediction is

the idea that the items within these scales are correlated with one another, but

that the scales themselves measure separate attributes. RESULTS Correlations The

correlation matrix (see Table 1) to be presented here includes dependent

variable groups labeled ⌠Takes Charge,■ ⌠Sexual

Attractiveness,■ ⌠Responsible,■ ⌠Nice,■ and

⌠Exciting■ scales. First the intra-scale correlations, then the

between-scale correlations, and finally the scale-item correlations of the

⌠Nice■ and ⌠Exciting■ scales will be presented. Within

Scale (Item-Item) Correlations The between item, intra-scale correlations for

the ⌠Takes Charge■ scale (the blue triangle in Table 1) were of

moderate convergent validity, as shown by their moderate correlation mean (r =

.47). The dependent variables within this scale were the Active, Brave, and

Strong items, with relatively similar correlation values of .34, .57, and .49,

respectively. The second group of intra-scale correlations, within the

⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ scale (the red triangle in Table 1), yielded

a high convergent validity (r = .51). The scale was composed of the following

items: Good in Bed, Desirable Date, Physically Attractive and Sexually

Appealing. The range of these intra-scale correlations was dispersed between r =

.32 and r = .72. The Responsible scale was composed of four items (Responsible,

Conscientious, Reliable, and Dependable) that suggest high convergent validity,

as evidence by the high correlation mean (r = .57) (as seen in the green

triangle in Table 1). The specific correlation values for the dependent

variables were dispersed evenly between r = .67 and r = .49. Table 1:

Correlation Matrix of the dependent variables in the ⌠Takes Charge,■

⌠Sexual Attractiveness,■ ⌠Responsible,■

⌠Nice■ and ⌠Exciting■ Scales 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 ⌠Takes Charge■ 1. Active 1 2. Brave .34 1 3. Strong .57 .49 1

⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ 4. Good in Bed .29 .37 .35 1 5. Desirable

Date .03 .24 .22 .32 1 6. Physically .16 .32 .32 .51 .36 1 Attractive 7.

Sexually .25 .37 .40 .67 .48 .72 1 Appealing ⌠Responsible■ 8.

Responsible .04 .21 .20 .01 .33 .10 .07 1 9. Conscientious .01 .27 .20 .01 .34

.16 .12 .61 1 10. Reliable -.06 .19 .15 -.13 .32 .03 .08 .50 .56 1 11.

Dependable -.05 .15 .16 -.00 .32 .10 .08 .58 .49 .67 1 ⌠Nice■ 12.

All dependent .00 .28 .30 .14 .53 .25 .31 .59 .57 .70 .70 1 variables within

this scale ⌠Exciting■ 13. All dependent .39 .45 .40 .62 .29 .42 .60

-.08 -.14 -.16 -.10 .06 1 variables within this scale Between Scale (Item-Item)

Correlations The between-scale, inter-item correlations were assessed for the

⌠Takes Charge,■ ⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ and

⌠Responsible■ scales. A comparison of the ⌠Takes Charge■

and ⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ scales (shown within the large yellow

rectangle in Table 1) revealed a mean correlation for the between-scale items as

r = .28: correlation values ranged from r = .03 to r =.40. Although the scale

had two outliers (r = .03 and r = .40), the two extreme values nullified each

other▓s significance in the final computation of the mean correlation

value. Thus, the average of the between-item correlations can be described as

having a moderately high discriminate validity (difference between scale items).

The second between-item correlation rectangle (the large pink rectangle in Table

1) shows the correlations between the ⌠Takes Charge■ items and the

⌠Responsible■ scale items. The mean correlation value was r = .12,

with a range of r = .27 to r = -.06, indicating that the two scales were not

correlated: their correlation values indicate high discriminate validity between

the two scales. The third between-scale correlations, which assess the

similarities between the ⌠Sexually Attractive■ and

⌠Responsible■ scales, are found within the large blue rectangle on

Table 1. The items of these scales also had a low correlation (r = .12) with a

range of r = .34 to r = -.06. The Physically Attractive dependent variable had a

higher correlation (r = .33) to the ⌠Responsible■ scale items than

the rest of the ⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ dependent variables.

Although this higher correlation raised the mean between-scale correlation

value, the scale still provide evidence for high discriminate validity. Between

Scale (Item-Scale) Correlations The scale-item correlations compared the

⌠Nice■ scale to the other scale▓s items. The ⌠Takes

Charge■ items▓ correlation values provided evidence for a high

discriminate validity compared to the ⌠Nice■ scale (r = .19) (as

seen in the small red rectangle on Table 1). The scale-item scores for Active,

Brave and Strong were r = .00, r = .28, and r = .30, respectively. The

scale-item correlations between the ⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ scale

and the ⌠Nice■ scale (seen in the small yellow rectangle in Table 1)

were slightly higher, but still held moderate discriminate validity (r = .31),

with a range of r = .14 to r = .53. The ⌠Responsible■ scale▓s

dependent variables had the highest correlation to the ⌠Nice■ scale

(r = .64), the correlations between the ⌠Responsible■ items and the

⌠Nice■ scale suggested a low discriminate validity (as seen in the

small pink rectangle in Table 1). The high correlation values of the item to

scale analyses between the ⌠Exciting■ scale and the ⌠Takes

Charge■ and ⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ items provided evidence

for a low discriminate validity between these items and the

⌠Exciting■ scale. The specific correlations between the ⌠Takes

Charge■ scale items and the ⌠Exciting■ scale were .39

(Active), .45 (Brave), .40 (Strong), resulting in a mean of r = .41 (in the

small green rectangle on Table 1). The correlations among the items within the

⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ scale (as seen in the small orange rectangle

in Table 1) provided evidence for an even lower discriminate validity when

paired to the ⌠Exciting■ scale (r = .48). Upon comparrison of the

scale-item correlations of the ⌠Takes Charge■ and the ⌠Sexual

Attractiveness■ items to the ⌠Nice■ scale (r = .19 and r =

.31, repectively), to the correlations of the ⌠Takes Charge■ and

⌠Sexual Attractiveness■ items to the ⌠Exciting■ scale (r

= .41 and r = .48, repectively), it can be seen that the ⌠Nice■

scale was less similar to these items than the ⌠Exciting■ scale (the

values for the ⌠Nice■ scale suggest lower discriminate validity).

The correlations between the ⌠Responsible■ scale items and the

⌠Nice■ scale were of lower...

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cognitions in the prediction of HIV-related preventative behavior and condom
use. Psychology and Health, 11(4) 505-525. Castaneda, D. & Collins, B.E.
(1995). The effects of gender, ethnicity, and close relationship themes on
perceptions of persons introducing a condom. Unpublished manuscript, University
of California, Los Angeles. Chassin, L., Presson, C.C., Sherman, S.J., Corty, E.
& Olshavsky, R.W. (1081). Self-images and cigarette smoking in adolescence.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 7(4) 670-676. Cline, R.W., Johnson,
S.T. & Freeman, K.E. (1992). Talk among sexual partners about AIDS:
Interpersonal communication for risk reduction or risk enhancement? Health
Communication, 4(1) 39-56. Collins, B.E. & Brief, D.E. (1995). Using
person-perception vignette methodologies to uncover the symbolic meanings of
teacher behaviors in the Milgram Paradigm. Journal of Social Issues, 51(3)
89-106. Collins, B.E. (1997). Symbolic, self-relevant meanings of behavior.
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(1989). Components of a comprehensive stategy for reducing the risk of AIDS in
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