Pleasure vs. Protection: The Role of Personal Motivation in Sexual Health
Published in Current Psychology, the 2022 article, “Seeking Security or Seeking Pleasure in Sexual Behavior? Examining How Individual Motives Shape Condom Use Attitudes,” explores how the desire for pleasure and the need for safety affect decisions related to sexual health.
As the authors, David Rodrigues and Diniz Lopes, Ph.D.’s in Social Psychology, put it,
“Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having fulfilling sexual experiences.”
This insight sets the tone for their research on how personal motivations, like seeking pleasure or safety, greatly affect how people feel about using condoms.
What people think about condoms matters
Attitudes toward condom use are multi-faceted — rooted in individual perceptions and motivations. The UCLA Multidimensional Condom Attitude Scale measures this complexity by assessing five distinct evaluative dimensions:
- Reliability and effectiveness of condoms
- The sexual pleasure associated with condom use
- The stigma attached to persons who use condoms
- The embarrassment about negotiation and the use of condoms
- The embarrassment of the purchase of condoms
This scale not only points out the practical views of condom use but also explores the psychological reinforcements that drive these attitudes. It emphasizes how individual experiences, beliefs, and motives influence a person’s opinion on condom use, thereby impacting their sexual health choices.
Security
Feeling secure is a fundamental human need and, therefore, a potential key factor that may dictate condom use. Individuals who are more centered on prevention often “feel more secure with condoms, [and] have more positive views about condom use.” This security-driven approach is not only about physical protection but a wide range of emotional and psychological safety.
It reflects a mindset where condoms are seen as both a shield against health risks and a facilitator of safer sexual experiences — that is, free from anxiety and uncertainty, feelings that may sometimes accompany unprotected sex.
Pleasure
On the other side, people who use condoms for pleasure see things from a different yet equally important perspective. They think of condoms “as more reliable and were less embarrassed about negotiating condom use with a partner.”
This frame of mind shifts the conversation from condoms being a barrier to pleasure, to condoms being an enabler of pleasure: a practical way to have carefree sex.
By seeing condoms as reliable, individuals motivated by pleasure can engage in sexual activities with a sense of freedom and confidence. They know their pleasure is not compromised but rather enhanced by the security that condoms provide.
Psychology of Condom Use
Attitudes toward condom use can be explained by Regulatory Focus Theory. This theory seeks to explain why people do what they do when chasing their goals. It poses that people’s behaviors rest upon two mindsets: promotion and prevention.
In the context of condom use, these mindsets can explain why people make certain decisions. For example, those who focus on ‘promotion’ are driven by a search for rewards and positive outcomes. They may use condoms because they see it as a way to enjoy sex more freely and without worry. Conversely, people who focus on ‘prevention’ are guided by a need to avoid consequences and negative outcomes. They may view condoms solely as a way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted or blood-borne infections.
Demographic Insights
Several demographic differences were found based on age and gender. For instance, “older people (over 24 years) who [are] more prevention-focused perceived condoms as reliable.” This perception is likely due to their greater experience with condom use.
“Women who [are] more focused on prevention feel less embarrassed about negotiating condom use,” indicating a focus on sexual security. Conversely, men who are more promotion-focused (presumably toward sexual pleasure) show less embarrassment and stigma surrounding condom use, which could make them more comfortable in discussing it.
It should be noted that these findings “were only observed on certain condom use attitudes.”
Revolutionizing Sexual Health Campaigns
The findings of this study may have profound implications for sexual health campaigns.
They suggest that promoting positive attitudes toward condom use can be grounded in either security or pleasure. Creating curated messages based on the person’s regulatory focus — prevention for security or promotion for pleasure — may enhance the effectiveness of these campaigns.
As the study shows,
“sexual health campaigns or programs that include messages and information using security and pleasure perspectives would likely have a stronger influence on the way people process and engage with the message.”
This could improve sex education, mitigate sex-related risks, and improve overall well-being.
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