Even though condom use is encouraged to protect against HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, men use condoms less as they get older, and younger men list embarrassment and a decrease in pleasure as reasons not to use them.
A study from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that 83 percent of young men use condoms to prevent pregnancy rather than disease. The report also revealed that 95 percent of young men think men and women bear equal responsibility for preventing pregnancy.
“I think it is significant that after more than 15 years of experience with HIV, we find it difficult to talk about, advertise or promote condom use,” says Jeff Stryker, co-author of the study and policy analyst for the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California at San Francisco.
A 1991 survey showed that men ages 17 to 22 used condoms 25 percent of the time. Men ages 35 to 39 use condoms the least often, or 17 percent of the time.
