Young people in the United States are often misinformed about the proper use of condoms.

According to a study of more than 15000 US teenagers adolescents commonly have misconceptions on the proper condom use. Data analysis on the 1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was initiated to assess the prevalence of such misconceptions and whether these misconceptions vary with certain characteristics. The study also conducted an interview survey among 16677 young people aged 15-21 years equally composed of males and females. Overall results noted that teenagers who were sexually experienced without religious affiliation with experience on using condom who have four or more lifetime sexual partners and older teenagers were less likely to have misconceptions than younger teenagers. Moreover teenagers perceptions of their knowledge of proper condom use did not necessarily correspond to their actual knowledge. The findings indicate the need for preventive education even if the target audience believes he/she is knowledgeable.