ABSTRACT
PIP: This paper examined the factors associated with the inconsistent relationship between perceived risk and condom use among young adults. In a review of previously conducted case studies, 24 out of 25 studies found a positive relationship with self-efficacy. In this study, 709 teenagers from Sacramento, California, completed a self-administered baseline survey. The results revealed that 68% use condoms during sexual intercourse. An analysis of perceived risk showed that 25% belong to the high-perceived-risk respondents, while 75% belong to the low-perceived-risk respondents. Findings from the study indicated that the perceived risk for HIV transmission was a cause and effect of condom use and other precautionary behavior. In addition, the direction of the association between perceived risk and the behavior reverses depending on how a respondent interprets the perceived risk measure. Furthermore, in the development of indicators that measures the desired construct, open-ended question must be considered particularly during the pre-testing phase to find out how respondents were interpreting the perceived risk question.^ieng
