Condom Use During Sexual Intercourse Among Women and Men Aged 15-44 in the United States: 2011-2015 National Survey of Family Growth

Abstract

condom use during sexual intercourse in a nationally representative sample of women and men aged 15-44 in the United States using the 2011-2015 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Where data were available, patterns of condom use during sexual intercourse from the 2011-2015 NSFG were compared with the 2002 and 2006-2010 NSFG. Methods-Data were collected through in-person interviews with nationally representative, independent samples of women and men aged 15-44 in the household population of the United States. Interviews were conducted between September 2011 and September 2015 with 11,300 women and 9,321 men. The response rates for the 2011-2015 NSFG were 72.3% for women and 69.6% for men aged 15-44. Results-During 2011-2015, 23.8% of women and 33.7% of men aged 15-44 used a condom at last sexual intercourse in the past 12 months, an increase for men since 2002 (29.5%). Among condom users, 59.9% of women and 56.4% of men aged 15-44 used only a condom and no other method during last intercourse in the past 12 months; another 25.0% of women and 33.2% of men used condoms plus hormonal methods; and 15.1% of women and 10.5% of men used condoms plus nonhormonal methods. During any intercourse in the past 4 weeks, 18.2% of women and 23.9% of men aged 15-44 used a condom "100%" of the time. The prevalence of condom use during any intercourse in the past 4 weeks varied by age, education, Hispanic origin and race, relationship at last sexual intercourse, and number of opposite-sex sexual partners in the past 12 months. Almost 7% of women aged 15-44 who used a condom in the past 4 weeks said the condom broke or completely fell off during intercourse or withdrawal, and 25.8% said the condom was used for only part of the time during intercourse.