University Students’ Condom Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Cultural Differences and What Predict Them

Humans instinctively adopt methods to reduce their risk of encountering harmful pathogens, yet their adherence to preventive health practices can often be erratic. Condoms exemplify one vital preventive tool against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that, despite their effectiveness, are not consistently utilized. This pattern of behavior appears to persist even during periods of widespread disease transmission, with varied data from the COVID-19 pandemic indicating that condom usage remained inconsistent. The present study aimed to clarify these inconsistencies by examining changes in condom use cross-culturally. Heterosexual participants who were sexually active ( N = 3,972 [1,327 men, 2,645 women], M age = 22.82) across 18 countries were asked about their condom use prior to the pandemic, then about their current use. Results revealed a significant decline in Australia, Canada, Portugal, Vietnam, Uganda, and Taiwan. Vaccination percentage and lockdown stringency were associated with this decline cross-culturally. These findings continue to add concerns about the spread of STIs among young people during the pandemic.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Published
2025-10-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221251384601
Primary Topic
Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

University Students’ Condom Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Cultural Differences and What Predict Them

Matthew B. Ruby, Shin Nakamine, Helen C. Harton, Asha Ganesan et al.
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
article

University Students’ Condom Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Cultural Differences and What Predict Them

Matthew B. Ruby, Shin Nakamine, Helen C. Harton, Asha Ganesan, Ángel Castro, Samantha Joel, Alyssa McCoy, Judit Takács, Veronica M. Lamarche, David L. Rodrigues, Juan Ramón Barrada, Kuan‐Pin Su, Yutaka Watanabe, Sawitree Visanuyothin, Ilan Dar‐Nimrod, Albert Lee, Bojana Bodroža, Claudia Patricia Navarro Roldán, Ivana Hromatko, Damian R. Murray, Cheryl Harasymchuk, Lik Sam Chan, Tran Thi Hong, Rebecca T. Pinkus, James Morandini, Grace Akello, Racidon P. Bernarte, Liam Dacosta, Viktorija Čepukienė, Ivana Jakšić, Richelle-Joy Chia, Elien De Caluwé, Saowanee Thongnopakun, Gyanmudra, Alexandra Sipos, Donya Ziadlou, Olivine Lo, Jane Chang, Jiawei Zhang, James K. Moran, Victoria Dale, Huỳnh Hồng
article en

Abstract

Humans instinctively adopt methods to reduce their risk of encountering harmful pathogens, yet their adherence to preventive health practices can often be erratic. Condoms exemplify one vital preventive tool against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that, despite their effectiveness, are not consistently utilized. This pattern of behavior appears to persist even during periods of widespread disease transmission, with varied data from the COVID-19 pandemic indicating that condom usage remained inconsistent. The present study aimed to clarify these inconsistencies by examining changes in condom use cross-culturally. Heterosexual participants who were sexually active ( N = 3,972 [1,327 men, 2,645 women], M age = 22.82) across 18 countries were asked about their condom use prior to the pandemic, then about their current use. Results revealed a significant decline in Australia, Canada, Portugal, Vietnam, Uganda, and Taiwan. Vaccination percentage and lockdown stringency were associated with this decline cross-culturally. These findings continue to add concerns about the spread of STIs among young people during the pandemic.

Journal of Cross-Cultural PsychologyVol. 57(2)
University of Essex (GB), Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (PT), Tulane University (US), University of Northern Iowa (US), Western University (CA), Burapha University (TH), The University of Sydney (AU), Gulu University (UG), Showa Women's University (JP), University of Novi Sad (RS), Nanyang Technological University (SG), Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK), Tokyo Future University (JP), University of Zagreb (HR), China Medical University (TW), Vytautas Magnus University (LT), Tilburg University (NL), La Trobe University (AU), Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia (CO), Universidad de Zaragoza (ES), Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PH), Trường ĐH Nguyễn Tất Thành (VN), University of Belgrade (RS), An-Nan Hospital (TW), Social Security Office (Thailand) (TH), Centre for Social Sciences (HU), University of the Philippines Manila (PH), Stony Brook University (US), Carleton University (CA), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (IN), Texas A&M University (US), University of Memphis (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 62%
Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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