Motivating adolescents to practice safer sex: the effects of sexual self-schema matching and planning

Abstract

The effectiveness of an intervention to promote condom use among adolescents was studied in a sample of 398 participants aged 12 to 19 years. Pilot studies showed that adolescents’ sexual self-schemata were associated with distinct motives to engage in sex, and that messages to promote condom use were perceived as more relevant and persuasive when their arguments matched the motives which were related to participants’ self-schema. We hypothesized that providing participant with self-selected action and coping plans, and/or a persuasive message that was matched to participants’ sexual self-schema would increase their intention to use condoms and prepare for condom use. Univariate analyses, controlling for socio-demographic factors, showed that sexual self-schema matching did not increase participants’ preparatory or behavioural intentions. Providing participants with action and coping plans increased their behavioural intention, but not their intention to prepare for condom use. A MANOVA showed a simple effect for non-native Dutch participants, who had a higher intention to prepare for condom use than Dutch participants. Implications are discussed.