Condom Fit and Feel Scale

Abstract

The Condom Fit and Feel Scale (CFFS) is a 14-item Likert-type scale developed to empirically measure men’s perceptions regarding the physical fit and comfort of condoms during sexual activity. This instrument specifically assesses comfort and fit along various anatomical points of the penis, including the base, shaft, and glans. Developed collaboratively by sexual health researchers, practitioners, and industry representatives, the scale addresses the common assertion that resistance to consistent condom use is often rooted in poor fit or discomfort.

The scale is structured around five distinct subscales: Condoms Fit Fine, Condoms Feel Too Loose, Condoms Feel Too Tight, Condoms Are Too Long, and Condoms Are Too Short. The CFFS is designed for dual utility: providing researchers with a quantitative construct for studies on condom attitudes and behaviors, and offering practitioners a sensitive tool to help men articulate specific concerns regarding condom dimensions, shape, texture, or lubricant type.

Keywords

Condom Fit and Feel Scale, CFFS, Condom use, Sexual behavior, Penile dimensions, Sexual health, Psychometrics, Condom attitudes, Fit perception, Sexual risk reduction.

Authors

Michael Reece, Debby Herbenick, Brian Dodge, Indiana University.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Condom Fit and Feel Scale is to provide an empirical, standardized measure for assessing men’s subjective experiences and perceptions regarding the fit and feel of condoms. This development was crucial for addressing a significant barrier to consistent condom usage: the perception that condoms do not fit correctly or feel comfortable.

The scale serves both academic and clinical applications. For researchers, it offers a quantitative assessment of perceived fit, allowing this construct to be integrated into studies concerning condom attitudes, cognitive factors, affective responses, and behavioral adherence related to condom use. For practitioners, including clinicians, educators, and therapists, the scale is a valuable diagnostic tool, enabling them to quickly identify and address specific fit concerns (e.g., tightness at the glans versus looseness at the base) to recommend appropriately sized or featured condoms.

Construct

The psychological construct measured by the CFFS is the Perceived Condom Fit and Feel. This construct encompasses a man’s subjective, cognitive, and affective evaluation of how a standard condom conforms to his specific penile dimensions and anatomical features during sexual activity. It moves beyond a simple “like/dislike” measure to assess specific dimensions of discomfort or poor fit across the penile anatomy (e.g., base, shaft, glans).

The construct is dimensionalized into five specific factors, reflecting both positive experiences (Condoms Fit Fine) and specific problems related to length (Too Long, Too Short) and circumference (Too Tight, Too Loose). By isolating these perceptual dimensions, the scale allows for targeted interventions aimed at improving comfort and thereby enhancing correct and consistent condom use.

Validity

The validity of the CFFS has been established through several psychometric assessments, confirming its ability to accurately measure the intended construct.

• Factorial Validity: This was established through both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (Reece et al., 2008), confirming the underlying structure of the scale. The analyses supported a stable five-factor solution, corresponding precisely to the five established subscales.
• Known-Groups Validity: This was demonstrated by examining the correlation between subscale scores and self-reported objective measures of erect penile dimensions, specifically circumference and length (Reece et al., 2009). This confirmed that men reporting poor fit scores tended to have penile dimensions that diverged significantly from the standard condom size.
• Convergent Validity: The scale’s total score and individual subscales showed meaningful convergence with measures of related behaviors and outcomes, including overall condom use rates, instances of condom breakage, and reported condom slippage (Reece et al., 2007; Reece et al., 2009).

Reliability

The CFFS has demonstrated acceptable to strong internal consistency across diverse populations, confirming the stability of its subscale measurements.

Internal reliability coefficients (Alpha) for the subscales have been reported to range from a low of 0.60 (for the Condoms Are Too Long subscale) up to 0.89 (for the Condoms Feel Too Loose subscale). These values were derived from administrations among samples of heterosexual, bisexual, and gay men (Reece et al., 2007; Reece et al., 2009).

Furthermore, the scale’s reliability has been successfully established among specific clinical populations, including individuals living with HIV (Briggs et al., 2009). Similar levels of reliability have also been demonstrated across multiple linguistic and cultural contexts, with validated versions available in Spanish, German, French, Dutch, and Slovenian (Dodge, Reece, & Herbenick, 2009).

Factor Analysis

Initial psychometric testing of the CFFS included rigorous factor analysis, which was performed following its implementation among a large sample of 1,842 men in the United States who had a history of condom use. The analysis involved both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to confirm the underlying dimensional structure.

The results strongly supported a stable five-factor solution, which aligns perfectly with the five conceptual subscales (Fit Fine, Too Loose, Too Tight, Too Long, Too Short). Collectively, these five factors accounted for 54.3% of the total variance observed in men’s perceptions of condom fit and feel, confirming the robust structure of the scale.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychometric self-report scale

Format: 14-item Likert-type scale with five distinct subscales.

Language Available: English, Spanish, German, French, Dutch, and Slovenian.

Population Group: Adult males with previous experience using condoms.

Age Group: Not explicitly specified, but typically adult (18+).

Population Details: Validated across diverse sexual orientations (heterosexual, bisexual, gay men) and clinical status (including men living with HIV).

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the extent to which 14 statements about condom fit and feel have applied to them during past sexual activities involving condoms. The response options are assessed using a 4-point scale (1 = Never Applies to Me; 4 = Always Applies to Me). Completion time is approximately 5 minutes.

Keywords

Condom fit, Sexual anatomy, Sexual health promotion, Condom resistance, Psychometrics, Scale development, Men’s health, Circumference, Length perception, Affective responses.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Michael Reece, Center for Sexual Health Promotion, HPER 116, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Information regarding formal permissions and licensing fees is not detailed in the source content, but correspondence can be directed to the primary author, Michael Reece.

Test Year: Initial development and validation studies were published between 2007 and 2009.

Reference’s

Briggs, L., Reece, M., Dodge, B., Glover, R., & Herbenick, D. (2009, November). Perceptions of condom fit and feel and relations with condom use among men living with HIV. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Philadelphia, PA.

Dodge, B., Reece, M., & Herbenick, D. (2009, November). Experiences of condom fit and feel among men in five European nations. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Philadelphia, PA.

Reece, M., Dodge, B., Herbenick, D., Fisher, C., & Alexander, A. (2007). Experiences of condom fit and feel among African-American men who have sex with men. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 83, 454–457.

Reece, M., Herbenick, D., & Dodge, B. (2009). Penile dimensions and men’s perceptions of condom fit and feel. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 85, 127–131.

Reece, M., Herbenick, D., Monahan, P., Sanders, S., Temkit, M., & Yarber, W. L. (2008). Breakage, slippage and acceptability outcomes of a condom fitted to penile dimensions. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 84, 143–149.

Items of the Condom Fit and Feel Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Please rate the extent to which each of the following statements has applied to you as you have used condoms for sexual activities in the past.

Response Options:

1. Never Applies to Me
2. Sometimes Applies to Me
3. Often Applies to Me
4. Always Applies to Me

Scale Items by Subscale (subscale titles provided for information, not to be included in the actual scale when administered).

Condoms Fit Fine

• Condoms fit my penis just fine.‌
• Condoms feel comfortable once I have them on my penis.

Condoms Are Too Long

• Condoms are too long for my penis.
• I have some unrolled condom left at the base of my penis after I unroll it.

Condoms Are Too Short

• Condoms are too short for my penis.
• Condoms will not roll down far enough to cover my penis completely.

Condoms Feel Too Tight

• Condoms are too tight on my penis.
• Condoms feel too tight along the shaft of my penis.
• Condoms feel too tight on the head of my penis.
• Condoms feel too tight around the base of my penis.

Condoms Feel Too Loose

• Condoms are too loose on my penis.
• Condoms feel too loose along the shaft of my penis.
• Condoms feel too loose around the head of my penis.
• Condoms feel too loose around the base of my penis.