Committed Heterosexual Couples Use Condoms Less Often According to Dutch Sex Study

A new study reveals that couples in committed, long-term sexual relationships are less likely to use condoms.

According to the recently published Dutch study, couples in casual relationships regularly used condoms 33.5 percent of the time, and only 14 percent of the time while in serious relationships. Researchers also found that regular condom use declines as relationships progressed and people were together for longer periods of time, reports Time.

Dutch researchers asked 2,144 men and women about their sexual activities with their last four sexual partners. As a result, they found that condom use among heterosexual couples may be strongly determined by the nature of the relationship compared to any other factor.

Furthermore, the couples who had sex more often were the less likely to use condoms, whether in serious or casual relationships. In addition, couples who experimented with sex acts like sex-related drug use and anal sex were more likely to report irregular condom use, while couples of the same ethnicity were also less likely to use condoms.

"We found that when partners are more familiar with each other and when they are more alike, inconsistent condom use becomes more prevalent," said researcher Amy Matser of the Public Health Service of Amsterdam toReuters. "We should rethink of our current prevention strategies to promote condom use to see whether these methods are sufficiently capable of increasing awareness of the risk of acquiring STIs from partners who are more familiar."

The survey results indicate a need for a shift in the way people are counseled about condom use, said Dr. Luu Ireland, from the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Los Angeles.