Condom use and hip hop culture: the case of urban young men in New York City.

Objectives: We explored how young men's perceptions of and participation in hip hop culture--urban social and artistic expressions, such as clothing style, breakdancing, graffiti, and rap music--and how contextual factors of the hip hop scene may be associated with their condom use, condom-use self-efficacy, and sense of community.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 95 African American and Latino men aged 15 to 25 years as part of a 4-year ethnographic study in New York City.

Results: Differences in young men's perceptions of and levels of affiliation with hip hop culture were not statistically associated with differences in their sense of community or condom-use self-efficacy.