| As the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continue to be problematic, condoms remain among the most effective public health prevention tools. The purpose of this research was: (1) to assess the psychometric properties of a new condom attitude scale, and (2) to assess and confirm the psychometric properties of this scale across two different samples.;The data for Phase 1 were taken from a larger, cross-sectional survey which included 1,832 male participants from 50 US states. The initial version of the Multi-Factor Attitude toward Condoms Scale (MFACS) included 19 items to assess an individual's attitude toward condoms. Phase 1 included a psychometric analysis of the MFACS with necessary revisions made based on this assessment. Phase 2 examined the revised MFACS when it was incorporated into a survey which also included variables related to demographics, sexual behaviors, and condom use. Initial testing and re-test data were collected from a large Midwestern University using in-class data collection from five undergraduate health-related courses.;Phase 1 reliability analyses indicated respectable internal consistency for the total scale (alpha=.816). A principal component analysis revealed three factors, which accounted for 61.44% of the variance. Components included: affective (alpha=.825), perceived effectiveness (alpha=.924), and manageability (alpha=.744). A confirmatory factor analysis indicated an adequate RMSEA (.075), and acceptable Comparative Fit index (CFI=.937) and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI=.903). Based on Phase 1 results, the MFACS was revised to 14 items. Phase 2 of the study included 442 participants for the initial testing and 421 for the retest. The revised MFACS demonstrated respectable internal consistency for the total scale (a=.803) and each subscale: affective (alpha = .790), perceived effectiveness (alpha = .795), and manageability (alpha = .751), and test-retest reliability (r = .752, p = 0.01). The results of the CFA from Phase 2 revealed that the model is an acceptable fit, with an adequate RMSEA of 0.077 and an acceptable CFI of 0.936. The scale also exhibits evidence of construct and predictive validity.;The results indicate that the MFACS is a valid and reliable scale. As there has been a lack of attention paid to examining the actual properties of a condom, the MFACS provides a different perspective of assessing an individual's attitude toward condoms, which has implications for the development of condom-related interventions and the larger field of sexual health.;INDEX WORDS: Condoms, Attitude, Psychometrics, Sexual health, Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)... |
