Negative Substance Use Consequences Associated With Noncondom Use Among Male, but Not Female, Alternative High School Students.
Timothy J Grigsby, Myriam Forster, Jennifer Tsai and 2 others
PMID 29864204WHAT IT FOUND
Male students reporting more substance use consequences were linked to no condom use at last sex; no such link appeared for females.
Specific social and dependence problems were linked to higher probability in males.
Key findings
01In sexually active substance using adolescents, total substance use consequences were linked to non-condom use for boys but not girls.
02When no consequences were reported, girls had a 58% probability of non-condom use and boys had 30.2%; the sex difference was no longer significant once boys reported 5 or more consequences.
03For boys, non-condom use probability increased by 10.2% with taking or selling others' property, 9.8% with selling own property, 17.8% with illegal activity to acquire drugs or alcohol, and 13.5% with missing school or work.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The data are cross-sectional, so they cannot show that substance use consequences caused non-condom use. Drug use and sexual behavior were self-reported and not verified. The sample came from alternative high schools in California and may not represent other adolescents. The analytic sample was 1101 after excluding 312 students reporting no past-year substance use and 270 reporting no past-year sexual intercourse. Substance use frequency and consequences could not be modeled together because they were correlated, so their separate contributions are unclear. The consequences list was not exhaustive, and sexual orientation was not examined.
Declared interests
The supplied text includes NIH extramural research support in the publication types, but it does not include a conflicts of interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these associations as evidence that substance use causes non-condom use or that screening or education reduces it. The study is cross-sectional, self-reported, and tested no intervention.