An examination of self reports of young adults' talk about safer sex in dating relationships: Health, relationship and emotional outcomes

The purpose of this study was to examine the process of the first safer-sex talk between young adults in dating relationships. The study employed face management theory, sexual compliance-gaining, script theory, appraisal theory, and existing empirical findings from public health to collect baseline data about safer-sex talk. A total of 405 young adults from a large Midwestern university completed an online survey to assess how young adults talk about safer sex (strategies), when they initiate the talk in the dating relationship (before and after the initial sexual intercourse event), how long into the relationship the sex talk occurred, topics of the safe sex conversation, and outcomes for the young adults' health, relationship, and emotions. Open-ended responses from the participants yielded data regarding strategies for initiation strategies that were collaborative in nature and not persuasive (more dialogic compared to compliance-gaining strategies). The open-ended responses were coded inductively and deductively using existing typologies from the sexual compliance gaining literature. Additional categories were added as necessary. Scaled responses (face management, self-efficacy, and reasons for not talking about safer sex) were analyzed using MANOVA. There were five major findings in the study. First, young adults with higher levels of self-efficacy in talking about safer-sex were more likely to talk about safer-sex than those with lower levels. Second, talking about safe-sex exhibited positive relational and emotional outcomes for the participants in the study. Third, although hypothesized, face management did not have a significant effect on whether young adults talk about sex because most respondents did not find sex talk very face-threatening. Fourth, there were no gender differences in initiating talks about safer-sex and reasons for not talking about safer-sex which alludes to changing cultural scripts. Finally, the number of previous partners, history of sexually transmitted infections (STI), testing for STIs, and birth control were common topics that emerged during the first safer sex talk. Drug use and homosexual experiences were not mentioned as topics during the safe-sex talk. The findings of this dissertation suggest that young adults should be encouraged to talk about safer-sex given the positive emotional, relational, and health benefits. This dissertation advances the literature on safer-sex talk by (a) including additional strategies for talking about safer-sex, (b) highlighting the role of self-efficacy of talking about safer-sex, and (c) acknowledging the ever-changing nature of cultural scripts for sexual behavior.