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Drinking and Condom use: Results from an Event-Based Daily Diary

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Abstract

Although it is often assumed that drinking alcohol interferes with condom use, most studies on this topic do not meet the conditions required for causal interpretation. We examined the association of drinking to condom use using data from diaries of alcohol use and sexual encounters, collected over 8 weeks from college students and clients of a sexually transmitted disease clinic. This method establishes the temporal relationships between drinking and condom use and controls for individual differences by using a within-subjects analysis. Multilevel models that predicted condom use from alcohol use before the sexual encounter, partner type, and the use of other contraception showed that drinking before sex was unrelated to condom use. These results do not support the persistent notion that alcohol causes people to engage in sexual risk that they would avoid when sober; instead, people tend to follow their usual pattern of condom use, regardless of alcohol use.

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Notes

  1. Data collected between 1995 and 1999.

  2. Note that when the logistic equation includes an interaction between two variables A and B, the coefficient for A represents the effect for A when B = 0. Thus, the OR of 1.0 for partner type among women does not represent the lack of a significant main effect of partner type; it signifies that partner type was not associated with condom use when alcohol was not consumed. Odds ratios for drinking and partner type main effects (without the interaction included) among women were 1.08 (95% CI = .77, 1.50) and 1.84 (95% CI = 1.16, 2.90), respectively.

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Acknowledgments

This work was Supported by Grants AA09701, K02 AA0183, and AA013688 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

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Author notes

  1. Jan Gaylord Vanslyke

    Present address: Coletta Reid and Associates, Seattle, NM, USA

  2. Damian T. Rainey

    Present address: Zango, Inc., Bellevue, WA, USA

  3. Mary Rogers Gillmore

    Present address: School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, 1107 N.E. 45th St., Suite 120, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    Barbara C. Leigh

  2. School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seatle, WA, USA

    Jan Gaylord Vanslyke, Marilyn J. Hoppe, Damian T. Rainey, Diane M. Morrison & Mary Rogers Gillmore

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  1. Barbara C. Leigh
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Correspondence to Barbara C. Leigh.

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Leigh, B.C., Vanslyke, J.G., Hoppe, M.J. et al. Drinking and Condom use: Results from an Event-Based Daily Diary. AIDS Behav 12, 104–112 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9216-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-007-9216-9

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