Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Keywords
condoms, COVID-19, sexual health, sexually transmitted infections
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology
First Page
1
Last Page
21
Abstract
Humans instinctively adopt methods to reduce their risk of encountering harmful pathogens, yet their adherence to preventive health practices can often be erratic. Condoms exemplify one vital preventive tool against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that, despite their effectiveness, are not consistently utilized. This pattern of behavior appears to persist even during periods of widespread disease transmission, with varied data from the COVID-19 pandemic indicating that condom usage remained inconsistent. The present study aimed to clarify these inconsistencies by examining changes in condom use cross-culturally. Heterosexual participants who were sexually active (N = 3,972 [1,327 men, 2,645 women], Mage= 22.82) across 18 countries were asked about their condom use prior to the pandemic, then about their current use. Results revealed a significant decline in Australia, Canada, Portugal, Vietnam, Uganda, and Taiwan. Vaccination percentage and lockdown stringency were associated with this decline cross-culturally. These findings continue to add concerns about the spread of STIs among young people during the pandemic.
Department
Department of Psychology
Department
Center for Social and Behavioral Research
Original Publication Date
10-22-2025
Object Description
1 PDF File
DOI of published version
10.1177/00220221251384601
Repository
UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa
Copyright
©2025 The Author(s)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Dacosta, Liam; Morandini, James S.; Pinkus, Rebecca T.; De Caluwé, Elien; Chan, Lik Sam; Lo, Olivine; Thongnopakun, Saowanee; Visanuyothin, Sawitree; Harasymchuk, Cheryl; Joel, Samantha; Harton, Helen C.; McCoy, Alyssa; Dale, Victoria; Rodrigues, David L.; Takács, Judit; Sipos, Alexandra; Lamarche, Veronica M.; Bernarte, Racidon; Čepukienė, Viktorija; Jakšić, Ivana M.; Bodroža, Bojana; Mai, Huỳnh Hồng; Hong, Tran Thi; Akello, Grace; Hromatko, Ivana; Ganesan, Asha; Zhang, Jiawei; Murray, Damian; Moran, James; Barrada, Juan Ramón; Castro, Ángel; Navarro-Roldan, Claudia; Su, Kuan-Pin; Chang, Jane; Ruby, Matthew B.; Ziadlou, Donya; Nakamine, Shin; Watanabe, Yutaka; Lee, Albert; Chia, Richelle-Joy; and Dar-Nimrod, Ilan, "University Students’ Condom Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Cultural Differences and What Predict Them" (2025). Faculty Publications. 6905.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/6905
Comments
First published in Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, (Oct 2025) published by SAGE Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221251384601