Condom use in heavy drinking college students: the importance of always using condoms.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined whether alcohol use decreased condom use. PARTICIPANTS: The subjects were heavy-drinking students on 5 different college campuses. METHODS: A face-to-face interview, administered between November of 2004 and February of 2007, gathered information about condom use, alcohol use, and other behaviors. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess predictors of condom use. RESULTS: Of the 1715 participants, 64% reported that they did not always use condoms. Male students who drank heavily were less likely to always use condoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.61). Participants with more sexual partners used condoms less when drinking (AOR 1.93 for men, 1.45 for women). CONCLUSIONS: Many students do not use condoms consistently, especially those who drink heavily or have multiple sexual partners. Clinicians at student health need to encourage all students to use condoms every time they have intercourse.

Domestic abuse during the previous year in a sample of postpartum women.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and the correlates of domestic abuse in women presenting for a postpartum visit. DESIGN: Data were collected via a cross-sectional survey. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine characteristics of women reporting abuse. SETTING: Thirty-five obstetric clinics in Wisconsin. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand five hundred nineteen women who presented for a postpartum visit. Most were White, well educated, employed, and married. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Physical and/or emotional abuse in the previous 12 months. RESULTS: One hundred twelve (7.4%) women were victims of abuse. Women who reported abuse were more likely to screen positive for postpartum depression (odds ratio 4.21, 95% confidence interval 2.19-8.09) be unmarried (odds ratio 7.05, 95% confidence interval 3.39-14.64), be older than 35 year (odds ratio 2.45, 95% confidence interval 1.10-5.50), be not in the labor force (odds ratio 2.39, 95% confidence interval 1.16-4.90), be of Hispanic ethnicity (odds ratio 2.73, 95% confidence interval 1.07-6.96), and have a partner who binge drinks (odds ratio 3.09, confidence interval 1.49-6.43). CONCLUSIONS: One in 14 women who present for a postpartum visit report emotional or physical abuse in the previous year. Although certain factors are more highly associated with domestic abuse, the high prevalence of abuse in this population supports the use of routine screening of women for domestic abuse.