University Students’ Condom Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Cultural Differences and What Predict Them

Authors

• Liam Dacosta, The University of Sydney
• James S. Morandini, The University of Sydney
• Rebecca T. Pinkus, The University of Sydney
• Elien De Caluwé, Tilburg University
• Lik Sam Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Olivine Lo, Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Saowanee Thongnopakun, Burapha University
• Sawitree Visanuyothin, National Health Security Office
• Cheryl Harasymchuk, Carleton University
• Samantha Joel, Western University
• Helen C. Harton, University of Northern IowaFollow
• Alyssa McCoy, University of Northern IowaFollow
• Victoria Dale, University of Western Ontario
• David L. Rodrigues, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa
• Judit Takács, Centre for Social Sciences
• Alexandra Sipos, Centre for Social Sciences
• Veronica M. Lamarche, University of Essex
• Racidon Bernarte, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
• Viktorija Čepukienė, Vytautas Magnus University
• Ivana M. Jakšić, University of Belgrade
• Bojana Bodroža, University of Novi Sad
• Huỳnh Hồng Mai, Nyugen Tat Thanh University
• Tran Thi Hong, Nyugen Tat Thanh University
• Grace Akello, Gulu University
• Ivana Hromatko, University of Zagreb
• Asha Ganesan, Texas A&M UniversityFollow
• Jiawei Zhang, University of Memphis
• Damian Murray, Tulane University
• James Moran, Tulane University
• Juan Ramón Barrada, Universidad de Zaragoza
• Ángel Castro, Universidad de Zaragoza
• Claudia Navarro-Roldan, Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia
• Kuan-Pin Su, China Medical University
• Jane Chang, China Medical University
• Matthew B. Ruby, La Trobe University
• Donya Ziadlou, Stony Brook University
• Shin Nakamine, Tokyo Future University
• Yutaka Watanabe, Showa Women's University
• Albert Lee, Nanyang Technological University
• Richelle-Joy Chia, Nanyang Technological University
• Ilan Dar-Nimrod, University of Sydney

Comments

First published in Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, (Oct 2025) published by SAGE Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221251384601

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