Risk behavior and social-cognitive determinants of condom use among ethnic minority communities in Amsterdam.

This study assessed sexual risk behavior and determinants of condom use among migrants in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We tested the predictive utility of constructs derived from the health belief model and the theory of planned behavior. Data were collected by means of a cross-sectional study in a community sample of 537 Surinamese, Antillean, and sub-Saharan African heterosexual men and women randomly recruited from participants in an epidemiological study. Participants donated saliva for HIV testing and were interviewed using two structured questionnaires. Inconsistent condom use occurred in 82% of the primary partnerships and in 25% of the casual partnerships. Multivariate analyses, controlling for sociodemographic and behavioral factors, showed that perceived behavioral control and subjective norm regarding condom use were main social-cognitive determinants of consistent condom use. However, contrary to predictions, the relation between consistent condom use and sociodemographic and behavioral factors was not entirely mediated by these social-cognitive factors.