Condom Use And Errors Among College Students (Infographic)

Condoms are a highly effective tool at preventing unplanned pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections. In fact, with perfect use, condoms have an efficacy rate as high as 98% for pregnancy prevention. However, the benefits of condoms are only realized whey they are used as intended and without user error. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Many studies have investigated the prevalence of condom errors and have found that they’re surprisingly high. A new study involving a sample of 1,584 participants across six U.S. universities published in Archives of Sexual Behavior provides insight into the scope of the issue today. Check out the infographic below to see some of the key highlights from the study, including the different ways students report using condoms incorrectly in the past year, as well as where college students are most likely to get their condoms from.

Some of the key findings include:

• Despite condoms being ready available on most college campuses, many students report feeling too embarrassed to obtain them this way. Most students go off campus to acquire them. As a result, they don’t always have condoms on hand when they’re needed.
• A very high rate of young men report that they at least sometimes lose their erection when putting on or using a condom, which may be an important reason why condoms are not always used consistently. Other research has found that some of the key factors that contribute to condom-associated erection loss include condom fit issues (e.g., using a condom that is too big or too small) and attempting to apply it before a full erection is experienced.
• Students frequently use condoms incorrectly, which increases their risk for STIs and unintended pregnancies. Much remains to be done in educating young adults about proper condom use and application. For tips on how to use condoms correctly, check out this fact sheet from the CDC.

Interested in learning more? Make sure to check out the full study here.

Data source: Butler, S. M., Oswalt, S. B., Hughes, C. M. L., Robbins, C. P., & Sundstrom, B. (2024). Condom acquisition, errors, and breakage among U.S. cisgender college students. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02998-z

Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click here for more from the blog or here to listen to the podcast. Follow Sex and Psychology on Facebook, Twitter (@JustinLehmiller), or Reddit to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTube and Instagram.

Infographic made using Canva