African-American crack users' attitudes and beliefs about male and female condoms

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether African-American men and women who smoke crack cocaine recognize the difference between the male and female condom and whether beliefs about male or female condoms are significantly different by type of condom. Methods: This study was nested in a larger study that is testing the efficacy of an intervention to encourage male and female condom use among African-American crack-cocaine smokers. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four study groups. Each study group received an identical questionnaire, except for the items measuring condom-use attitudes and beliefs, which were differentiated by type of condom. Results: One hundred and sixty-five crack smokers took part in the study. Of these, 62% were male and 84% were single. Means for the groups were compared using one-way ANOVA analyses and no significant differences were found in attitudes/beliefs about condoms by type. Conclusions: These data suggest that baseline attitude/belief measures about use of the female condom are invalid "starting" points to test the efficacy of interventions designed to increase use of the female condoms because respondents are giving answers based on the attitudes/beliefs about the male condom or are giving "random" responses.