Description
Safer sex practices are a continued concern as many sexually active college students have multiple sexual partners but endorse inconsistent condom use and little to no perceived risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI). Students who engage in friends with benefits relationships (FWBR) may be at an increased risk for getting an (STI) due to the friendship component of, ultimately, a casual sexual relationship. The purpose of the current study was to explain sexual communication among FWB partners and the relationship between sexual communication and safer sex practices. A college sample from the psychology and communication participant pools was recruited to complete an online survey. Eligible participants included those endorsing sexual intercourse with a current FWB partner (n = 197). It was hypothesized that (a) Higher levels of trust, commitment, and being exclusive would result in increased communication, (b) Increases in trust, commitment, exclusivity, and communication would result in lower levels of condom use endorsement, and (c) Recent testing and using a contraceptive device would result in lower self-reported condom use. Multivariate regressions showed a significant relationship between communication and friendship commitment Wilk's _ = .901, p = .003. Increases in friendship commitment significantly predicted increases in communication about safer sex practices (B = .06 p = .017), sexual history (B = .33 p < .001), and exclusivity (B = .21 p = .021). Condom use frequency was not correlated with trust, commitment, or exclusivity. Decreases in condom use frequency were predicted by exclusivity communication (B = -3.0, p = .04), the use of a contraceptive device (B = -19.19, p = .001), and recent testing (B = -13.93, p = .02). Results indicate that different sexual communication topics may be related to different outcomes and should not necessarily be composited into one communication index. Results also indicate that emotional predictors such as commitment and trust may not be as predictive of safer sex practices compared to concrete behaviors (i.e., communication, getting tested, and contraceptive devices). The potential benefits of this study include a better understanding of the increasingly popular FWBR and why safer sex practices may or may not occur.
