Global and specific measures of power and self-esteem in women's experience with condom use

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between power, selfesteem, and condom use for women. A final sample of 122 female college students, who were currently or recently in a romantic relationship involving sexual intercourse, filled out questionnaires about global self-esteem, sexual self-esteem, perceived global power within the relationship, perceived sexual power within the relationship, and sexual behavior. Global self-esteem, sexual self-esteem, global power, and sexual power did not account for a significant amount of the variance in condom use for women. Hypotheses stating that the specific measures of power and self-esteem would better predict condom use for women than global measures were not confirmed. Furthermore, power (global or specific) did not moderate the relationship between self-esteem (global or specific) and condom use. However, a single item asking about perceived power (compared to one's partner) to make decisions about condom use did account for a significant amount of the variance in condom use. In addition, 19% of the sample indicated that in their current or most recent romantic relationship involving sexual intercourse, there had been at least one time when they had wanted their partner to use a condom, but their partner did not use a condom.