Adult Men's Sexual Assault Victimization and Condom Use Resistance: A Preliminary Investigation.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Sexual assault victimization in men is understudied.
• Victimization is linked to negative outcomes, including risky sexual behaviors like condom use resistance (CUR).
• Research on CUR among male adolescent/adult sexual assault (ASA) survivors is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between men's history of ASA victimization and their use of CUR strategies.
• To compare CUR use between men with and without a history of ASA victimization.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 282 young, single, sexually active men in the United States.
• Assessed participants' history of sexual assault victimization and use of CUR strategies.
• Utilized Quade non-parametric ANCOVAs to compare CUR use between victims and non-victims.

Main Results:

• Nearly half of participants (48.6%) reported a history of sexual assault victimization.
• Victims used more CUR overall, including noncoercive strategies and those related to risk reassurance, relationship trust, reduced sensitivity, and direct requests.
• No significant differences were found in coercive CUR or strategies involving seduction, withholding sex, or loss of arousal.

Conclusions:

• Men's ASA victimization is associated with increased use of CUR, mirroring findings in female survivors.
• These findings underscore the importance of addressing CUR in interventions for male ASA survivors.
• Future research should validate these findings in diverse populations to inform prevention and intervention efforts.