The relationship of substance use with sex to the use of condoms among young adults in two urban areas of Scotland.

ABSTRACT

The relationship of the use of alcohol or drugs in conjunction with sexual activity and the use of condoms and other contraceptives was examined among 1378 respondents in a household survey of two urban areas of Scotland. In bivariate analyses, respondents who reported having had sex under the influence of alcohol or drugs were no less likely than respondents with no such experience to report consistent use of condoms, and having had sex under the influence of substances was positively related to lifetime condom use. Multivariate analyses that included gender and urban area as predictors yielded similar findings. The results suggest that individuals who combine sex with alcohol or drugs are not necessarily more likely to engage in riskier sex.

ABSTRACT

PIP A survey conducted among young adults in Scotland failed to provide confirmation for the assumption that sexual intercourse under the influence of drugs or alcohol is associated with a greater likelihood of failure to use condoms. Interviews were conducted in 1990 with 1378 men and women ages 16-30 years located through a random sample of households in Edinburgh's Muirhouse area and Glasgow's Easterhouse area--both economically depressed areas with a high incidence of social problems. 12% of respondents in both areas reported having had sex while using drugs, and 85% of Muirhouse residents and 81% of Easterhouse residents had sex while drinking alcohol. Although 62% of sexually active men and women were not using condoms with their current partner, 66% of men and 48% had used condoms at some point. Experience of sexual intercourse with alcohol or drugs was not significantly associated with reported condom use with current partner or condom use in the past year; however, subjects who had had sex under the influence of one of these substances reported more lifetime condom use than those who had not. Multivariate analysis, controlled for gender and area, produced the same finding.