Condom type may influence sexual behavior and ejaculation and complicate the assessment of condom functionality

Abstract

Background: Studies that evaluate condom effectiveness are affected by factors related to how the condom was used, and these factors may not be consistent between different types of condoms. Also, subjective assessments of the sexual act may be unreliable.

Study design: We performed a secondary data analysis of a randomized crossover trial of male and female condoms among 108 couples.

Results: Self-reported duration and activeness of coital acts were significantly different for uses of the male condom compared to uses of the female condom. Fewer individuals reported ejaculation occurring with the female condom. Reliability of self-reports of ejaculation compared to a biological marker of semen detected inside the used male and female condoms was not strong.

Conclusions: We found that sexual behaviors appear to differ by the type of condom used for the coital act. Studies should consider sexual behavior when evaluating condom effectiveness. Furthermore, studies would be strengthened by the use of a biological marker of semen to determine whether ejaculation, and therefore a true risk of exposure, occurred.