Condom use adoption and continuation: A transtheoretical approach

The use of latex condoms can reduce the risks of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that can lead to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Yet, most intervention programs have demonstrated little effect on overall condom use, The major limitation of many traditional behavioral change programs is that they are based on an action paradigm which implicitly or explicitly views behavior change as a dramatic and discrete movement (e.g. going from 'never' using condoms to 'always' using condoms). The Transtheoretical Model of Change (TMC) offers an alternative conceptualization of the structure of change, a stage paradigm, that defines behavior change as an incremental process through a series of stages, This paper offers a summary of how measures and models of condom use based on the TMC have been developed and continue to be refined, offers some preliminary findings with diverse populations, and describes intervention applications of a stage paradigm approach to condom use adoption and continuation.