Condom negotiation among adolescent mothers in a resource-constrained setting

A COM-B analysis with implications for sexual and reproductive health

Bibliographic Data

ID24144941
AuthorsAnthony Kwame Morgan (0000-0001-7904-9955, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, corresponding author), Olubusola Olukorede Solomon (0009-0002-3519-5883, Durban University of Technology)
Year2026
Pages1-18
Publication date2026-09-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAIDS Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0954-0121 • E-ISSN: 1360-0451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540121.2026.2728608
PMID42740652
OpenAlexW7213344378
LanguageEN
References cited61

Condom negotiation among adolescents is a critical component of sexual and reproductive health, yet significant gaps persist between knowledge and behaviour. Traditional interventions focus on awareness and place less emphasis on how environmental pressures and internal emotional factors interact to disrupt negotiation. This qualitative study explores the behavioural determinants of condom negotiation among adolescent mothers, specifically examining how capabilities, opportunities, and motivations influence sexual health choices within the COM-B framework. Data collection focused on assessing participants' physical and psychological capabilities, external social and physical opportunities, and both automatic and reflective motivations regarding sexual negotiation. The findings reveal a core contradiction in adolescent behaviour; adolescent mothers possess sufficient capabilities, but these advantages are completely offset and negated in real-world situations. Under reflective motivation, most participants endorsed condom use. However, in real-sexual situations, external factors such as peer stigma and gender power inequalities, combined with negative automatic motivation and immediate impulses, consistently discourage negotiation. Thus, condom negotiation is a dynamic process shaped by external environmental constraints and internal emotions rather than simple personal skills; capability does not guarantee action. Consequently, sexual health interventions must move beyond basic skill-building to actively tackle social stigma, gender power dynamics, and immediate psychological barriers to protect adolescent well-being.

Condom · Focus group · Negotiation · Population · Psychological intervention · Qualitative research · Reproductive health · Stigma (botany) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Intimate Partner and Family Violence