Study Examines Link Between Alcohol and Condom Use by College Women

A study by researchers at The Miriam Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Alpert Medical School at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has found a link between alcohol use and a lowered use of condoms by college women. The study also found that women who smoke marijuana were less likely to use condoms.

The study examined 1,856 sexual encounters of 297 first-year college women. The researchers found a direct correlation between the number of alcoholic drinks consumed and a lower probability of condom use. The data in the study is broken showing differences in condom use with romantic partners, casual acquaintances, friends, strangers, and ex-boyfriends.

The lead author of the study is Jennifer Walsh, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a research scientist in the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at The Miriam Hospital. The study, “Do Alcohol and Marijuana Use Decrease the Probability of Condom Use for College Women?” was funded by a grant from the National Institutes on Alcohol and Alcoholism. The research was published on the website of the Journal of Sex Research. It may be accessed here.