Condom refusal and young Black men: the influence of pleasure, sexual partners, and friends.

The study investigated pleasure-related, partner-related, and social normative correlates of recent condom refusal in young Black men (YBM). A cross-sectional study of YBM (N = 561) attending clinics treating sexually transmitted diseases in three cities was conducted. Mean age was 19.6 years (SD = 1.87). Nearly one of every two young men (46.8 %) indicated recent refusal to use a condom after a request from their partner. Significant findings included the following: partner-related beliefs "I feel closer to my partner without a condom" (OR = 2.52, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.65-3.83) and "condoms make sex hurt for the female partner" (OR = 1.69, 95 % CI = 1.14-2.52), a scale measure of pleasure-related beliefs (OR = 2.58, 95 % CI = 1.73-3.84), and a scale measure of negative social beliefs associated with condom usage (OR = 1.05, 95 % CI = 1.00-1.10). Interventions addressing pleasure-related, partner-related, and social normative beliefs as barriers to condom use are warranted for YBM.