Beneficial but not sufficient: effects of condom packaging instructions on condom use skills

Among those who are sexually active, condom use is the only method of protection against HIV/AIDS. Poor condom skills may lead to condom use failures, which can lead to risk of exposure. Despite the wide availability of condom use instructional leaflets, it is unclear whether these instructions sufficiently teach condom use skills. Ninety-two male and 113 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to a control condition (read non-condom instructions) or a treatment condition (read condom instructions). Participants completed self-report measures related to condom use and performed a condom demonstration task. Participants who read the condom instructions did not perform significantly better on the demonstration task, F (1, 203) = 2.90, P = 0.09, η(2) = 0.014. At the item level, those who read the condom instructions better performed two of the seven condom use steps correctly. These data suggest that condom packaging instructions do not effectively teach condom use skills.