# Perfect Usage of Condoms vs listed failure rates **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-usage-of-condoms-vs-listed-failure-rates/301572 "2005-04-28T17:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EarthStone777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@EarthStone777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EarthStone777)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-usage-of-condoms-vs-listed-failure-rates/301572/1 "2005-04-28T17:12:31Z")
Quote by CrazyCatLady: "Why are condoms relatively crappy birth control? Well, because they have a much higher failure rate than other methods. Something on the order of 10% for average use, I believe, as opposed to about 5% for the pill. " I read this in another thread and it got me thinking (and remembering) something I read some years ago… I vaguely recall reading that they did a study a few years ago on couples where one partner had AIDS (or was HIV positive) and the other partner was clean. They trained the couples in the correct usage of condoms and kept tabs on them for 5 years. At the end of the study only 1% of the clean partners had been infected, and EVERY ONE OF THEM (of the newly infected) admitted that they had not used the condoms every single time. They had, at some point, done something risky. (Note - that’s 1% over 5 years! These were people who knew their partner was infected and had a very good reason to be careful) The couples who used the condoms correctly Every Time had a 0% infection rate. (I can’t recall if the couples were M/M, M/F, or mixed.) The conclusion of the study was that the ‘normal’ failure rate of condoms (from 2% to 10% depending on your source) was entirely due to people not using them correctly, or not using them every time. And that with proper training and dedication they should have a much lower ‘failure’ rate. In my experience, I had a high breakage rate when I first started using them (almost 10% per use!) but then I tried different brands until I found one that fit better and have never had one fail since. So my question is… Has anyone else heard about this? What do you think? What is your experience? (Ok, that’s three questions, so sue me.) ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-usage-of-condoms-vs-listed-failure-rates/301572/2 "2005-04-28T18:16:48Z")
Well, I found [urlhttp://www.thebody.com/cdc/factcond.html=]this website that seems to have some good information. Selected quotes: > [@](#): > > The protection that proper use of latex condoms provides against HIV transmission is most evident from studies of couples in which one member is infected with HIV and the other is not, i.e., “discordant couples.” In a study of discordant couples in Europe, among 123 couples who reported consistent condom use, none of the uninfected partners became infected. In contrast, among the 122 couples who used condoms inconsistently, 12 of the uninfected partners became infected. > [@](#): > > The fact is: latex condoms are highly effective for pregnancy prevention, but only when they are used properly. Research indicates that only 30 to 60 percent of men who claim to use condoms for contraception actually use them for every act of intercourse. > [@](#): > > Several studies clearly show that condom breakage rates in this country are less than 2 percent. Most of the breakage is due to incorrect usage rather than poor condom quality. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-usage-of-condoms-vs-listed-failure-rates/301572/3 "2005-04-28T18:18:23Z")
[Fixed link](http://www.thebody.com/cdc/factcond.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-usage-of-condoms-vs-listed-failure-rates/301572/4 "2005-04-28T19:43:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Research indicates that only 30 to 60 percent of men who claim to use condoms for contraception actually use them for every act of intercourse. How is this determined? They obviously have some source of information other than self-reporting, here. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-usage-of-condoms-vs-listed-failure-rates/301572/5 "2005-04-28T21:49:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How is this determined? They obviously have some source of information other than self-reporting, here. Well, I’m not sure what type of study it was, but I would guess that the numbers _were_ self-reported in an interview or questionnaire. The page I linked to earlier (I found it by gooogling) doesn’t give a specific cite, but states that their source of information is the CDC. I searched around the CDC site, but haven’t had much luck. I found [this](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_019.pdf) cite - **warning - PDF file** - from the [National Centre for Health Statistics](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/). The cite is about women’s sexual behaviours, not men’s, but it states that: > [@](#): > > Of the 9.7 million women who were using only coitus-dependent contraceptive methods at some time in the 3 months before interview (table 46), almost 33 percent, or over 3 million, used them inconsistently—that is, not at every act of intercourse. An even higher percentage of teenagers using these methods reported using them inconsistently (about 38 percent), but the highest percentage of inconsistent use was reported among women 20–24 years of age (almost 42 percent). There is a table detailing this on page 56 of the PDF, titled _Number of women 15–44 years of age who had intercourse in the 3 months prior to interview and only used coitus-dependent contraceptive methods during those months and percent distribution by consistency of use, according to selected characteristics: United States, 1995_. Coitus-dependent methods include male condom, diaphragm, female condom, sponge, cream, jelly, and others that must be used at the time that intercourse occurs. It states that of all the women in the study (9,726 total), 67.6% used coitus-dependent contraceptive methods every time they had intercourse, 12.5% used them more than half of the time, and 20.0% used them half of the time or less. The results are further broken down by age, marital status, education, poverty level and race. The lowest numbers I saw were among women with the lowest education - no high school or GED. Of 640 women, 64.0% reported using contraception every time, 6.9% used it more than half of the time, and 29.1% used it less than half of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-usage-of-condoms-vs-listed-failure-rates/301572/6 "2005-04-28T22:01:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How is this determined? They obviously have some source of information other than self-reporting, here. > [@Waenara](#): > > Well, I’m not sure what type of study it was, but I would guess that the numbers were self-reported in an interview or questionnaire. I realized I didn’t really elaborate here. Since I’m pretty sure that they’re not covertly surveilling the men to determine actual condom useage, I’d guess that the statistic comes from a study where they initially ask men if they consistently use a condom, and then do more detailed questions later that reveals more. But this is just a WAG. I can easily see a man saying that sure, they always use condoms, but then when pressed for details admit that they might forget sometimes, or not have any on hand so they do without, or they don’t like them that much, so only do if their partner insists, or any other reason. From the way the statement is worded, I think that they’re counting anyone who doesn’t use a condom even once: > [@Waenara](#): > > Research indicates that only 30 to 60 percent of men who claim to use condoms for contraception actually use them for **every** act of intercourse. ---
**Author:** ![EarthStone777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@EarthStone777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EarthStone777)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-usage-of-condoms-vs-listed-failure-rates/301572/7 "2005-05-03T13:59:55Z")
Thanks **Waenara**! That’s just the information I was looking for. (Either I have to improve my Googling skills, or at least take more time weeding through the results. When I tried, all I found were the usual stats without referencing that study.)