Media Release | Feb. 18, 1999
Survey finds students wary of buying condoms
A survey of 130 UBC students by Commerce researchers at the university
has discovered that 66 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women
report some level of embarrassment when buying condoms.
The researchers worry that reluctance to be seen buying condoms
is a roadblock to having safe sex. They recommend that the contraceptives
be sold in candy, snack and cigarette vending machines to save red
faces and lives.
"People who reported being embarrassed when buying condoms, purchased
less often and if you don't have condoms, obviously you can't use
them," says Commerce Prof. Chuck Weinberg, chair of the marketing
division of UBC's Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration.
Weinberg was part of the research team with UBC marketing Prof.
Gerald Gorn and Darren Dahl, an assistant professor of marketing
at the University of Manitoba and graduate of UBC. Their findings
are published in the latest Canadian Journal of Public Health.
Eligible respondents were sexually active, had previously purchased
condoms, and were single without a steady sexual partner.
Eighty per cent of those who said they were embarrassed rated being
spotted at the cashier as more intimidating than being seen in the
display area. The level of embarrassment wasn't correlated with
gender, age, number of sexual partners or whether the buyer lived
at home.
"Approaching the cashier is the moment of truth," says Weinberg.
"There is also the worry that a `price check in Aisle 3 on a 12-pack
of Durex condoms' will be announced to the entire store."
Studies show that students take risks -- only half used a condom
during their last sexual encounter.
While potential barriers to condom use, such as reduced pleasure
and the influence of alcohol, have been the subjects of an increasing
body of research, barriers to condom purchase are only now being
explored.
Weinberg thinks it's unfortunate that most vending machines don't
sell major brands of condoms.
"If you are buying last-minute, you want to be certain you can
trust it," he says.
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