Room 518 | Sexuality and Relationships Tuesday, July 12, 2005 Time: 8:30 AM-10:30 AM |
It Takes Two: The Role of Partner Ethnicity and Age Characteristics on Condom Negotiations Among Asian American Women.
Lam, Amy *,1, Barnhart, James, 1 UCSF department: Health Psychology, San Francisco, California, USA
ABSTRACT- It is generally assumed that women communicate about safer sex in a similar manner across their romantic/sexual relationships. Past research has found that partner ethnicity and age moderate condom use. What has been missing in the research literature to date is a systematic study of how these partner characteristics influence the type of condom negotiation strategies that women use. This exploratory study extends previous research by examining whether ethnic background and age of one′s partner shape the condom negotiation process. This may be especially important for Asian American women as they have the highest rates of cross-ethnic partnerships in the U.S. (Harris & Ono, 2001). Specifically, the study examined the use of four types of negotiation strategies (i.e., verbal-direct, verbal-indirect, nonverbal-direct, nonverbal-indirect) among Asian women. Methods: We conducted a web-based survey of 181 heterosexual Asian (Chinese and Filipino) college women across four universities. Logistic regressions were used to examine whether partner ethnicity and age predicted the type of strategy (i.e., verbal-direct, verbal-indirect, nonverbal-direct, and nonverbal-indirect negotiations) Asian women used. Results: Results indicated significant partner ethnicity and age effects. Asian women with non-Asian partners were more likely to use nonverbal-direct strategies than women with Asian partners. Asian women with older partners were less likely to use verbal strategies (both verbal-direct and verbal-indirect) than those with same-age partners. Conclusion: HIV prevention research focused on women must be more attentive to the dyadic nature of condom use (Amaro, 1995). An important interactive aspect of condom use involves the act of negotiating condoms with a sexual partner. Our study fills a critical gap in the condom negotiation literature, suggesting that Asian women do not use the same condom negotiation strategies in every relationship. Future research should examine how partner characteristics influence condom negotiations for women of other ethnic backgrounds. HIV interventions may benefit from thinking about how women′s safer sex communications are partner-specific and begin discussions with women concerning how a sexual partner influences one′s condom negotiation strategies.
Key words: Condom Negotiations, Partner Ethnicity, Partner Age, Asian American Women, Nonverbal Communication