Condom use at last sex as a proxy for other measures of condom use: is it good enough?

Abstract

Condom use at last sex is a widely used indicator in sexual behavior research; however, there is little empirical research validating this indicator. This study examined whether a single-event recall period (the last time coitus occurred) was consistent with longer recall periods (14 days and 60 days) for a sample of African American adolescent females (N = 566). The findings from this study demonstrate that condom use at last coitus is a valid proxy for condom use behaviors spanning longer time periods.