ABSTRACT
Many individuals find making condom use requests and negotiations uncomfortable. Within the context of heterosexual relationships, the discomfort might be amplified due to what is dictated in traditional sexual scripts (Byers, 1996: Emmers-Sommer & Allen, 2005). Many dynamics are at play regarding condom requests, negotiation and compliance. For starters, power aspects of the relationship are in motion, and varied comfort levels, self-efficacy, timing, relational status and confidence are considerations. Women, in particular, are at amplified risk in unprotected heterosexual encounters due to increased physical, and sometimes, emotional, vulnerability (Woolf & Maisto, 2008). According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (2002, as cited in Woolf & Maisto), 68% of the AIDS cases diagnosed in 2002 in adolescent and adult women were due to heterosexual transmission. The purpose of this chapter is to explore condom use and conflict in heterosexual relationships. To begin, we explore sexual script theory as a theoretical framework (Metts & Spitzberg, 1996) and, related, the traditional sexual script (Byers, 1996).
