Citation

Orchowski LM, Yusufov M, Oesterle D, Bogen KW, Zlotnick C. Arch. Sex. Behav. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Providence, RI, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10508-019-01537-5

PMID

31598805

Abstract

The present study examined the mediating role of sexual assertiveness in the relationship between psychological, physical, and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and unprotected sex as a result of condom use resistance among sexually active young women attending community college. Women reported engagement in unprotected sex as a result of a partner's use of one of 32 forms of condom use resistance (e.g., physical force, deception, or other forms of coercion to avoid using a condom during intercourse). Women ages 18-24 years (N = 212) attending community college were recruited through paper advertisements to complete assessments of social and dating behavior in the campus computer laboratory. Only the women with a history of sexual intercourse (N = 178; 84% of the sample) were included in analyses. More frequent engagement in unprotected sex as a result of a partner's condom use resistance was associated with physical, psychological, and sexual IPV victimization. Sexual assertiveness mediated the relationship between physical IPV victimization and the frequency of unprotected sex as a result of condom use resistance. Efforts to prevent dating violence and enhance the sexual health of community college women may benefit from focusing on targeting sexual assertiveness as a protective factor.

Language: en

Keywords

Condom use; Intimate partner violence; Mediation; Victimization