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. 2022 Jul;26(7):2299-2313.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03573-6. Epub 2022 Jan 17.

A Trend Analysis of Condom use in Spanish Young People over the Two Past Decades, 1999-2020

Rafael Ballester-Arnal  1 , Cristina Giménez-García  2 , Estefanía Ruiz-Palomino  1 , Jesús Castro-Calvo  3 , María Dolores Gil-Llario  4
Affiliations

A Trend Analysis of Condom use in Spanish Young People over the Two Past Decades, 1999-2020

Rafael Ballester-Arnal et al. AIDS Behav. 2022 Jul.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

HIV exposure is one of the greatest sexual risks in young people, and condom use is the best protective measure. Despite the preventive efforts, trend in condom use is still unclear. This study examines the trend of condom use by gender in Spanish young people, in different sexual practices (vaginal, oral and anal), relationships (regular and casual) and having sex after drugs consumption during the two past decades (from 1999 to 2020). For this, 14,472 people who ranged from 17 to 40 years old (63.5% women) filled the AIDS Prevention Questionnaire in each year. In general, low condom use remains stable and even gets worse regardless of the type of sexual practice, relationship and the substance consumption. Regarding gender, this trend is worse in women who have been less likely to report condom use than men have. Moreover, older people have reported a minor frequency of condom use than the youngest people have done, except for anal sex. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze why, despite preventive efforts, condom use seems to decrease over time.

El VIH es uno de los mayores riesgos en la sexualidad de la juventud, y el uso del preservativo la mejor medida de protección. A pesar de los esfuerzos preventivos, la tendencia en su uso es indeterminada. Este estudio examina la evolución del uso del preservativo según género en jóvenes españoles, en diferentes prácticas sexuales (vaginal, oral y anal), relaciones (estable y esporádica) y al practicar sexo tras consumir drogas, durante las dos últimas décadas (de 1999 a 2020). Para ello, 14.472 personas entre 17 y 40 años (63,5% mujeres) cumplimentaron el Cuestionario de Prevención del Sida cada año. En general, el bajo uso del preservativo se mantiene estable e incluso empeora con independencia del tipo de práctica sexual, relación y consumo de sustancias. Según el género, las mujeres muestran peor tendencia, al informar menor uso que los hombres. Además, las personas más mayores informan menor frecuencia de uso que los más jóvenes, excepto para el sexo anal. Por tanto, es necesario analizar por qué, a pesar de los esfuerzos preventivos, el uso del preservativo parece disminuir con el tiempo.

Keywords: Condom use; Gender; Spain; Trend; Young people.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Number of participants by gender and age per year of recruitment
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Unstandardized predicted value of condom use in sexual experiences by year
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Unstandardized predicted value of condom use in sexual experiences for men by year
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Unstandardized predicted value of condom use in sexual experiences for women by year
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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