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  • Title: Contraceptive continuation among adolescents attending family planning clinics.
    Author: Furstenberg FF, Shea J, Allison P, Herceg-Baron R, Webb D.
    Journal: Fam Plann Perspect; 1983; 15(5):211-4, 216-7. PubMed ID: 6653736.
    Abstract:
    An attempt to find a reliable way to measure contraceptive continuation among teenagers was made in a study of 445 adolescents under age 18 who made an initial visit to one of nine federally funded family planning clinics in the Philadelphia area in 1980 and 1981. The participants were interviewed at their initial visit and at six and 15 months to collect information on background characteristics, pregnancy history and contraceptive use. A cross-check of the information on contraceptive use reported during the study showed that 38 percent of the respondents who reported that they had been continuous users during the 15 months supplied information at other points indicating that they had not always used contraceptives during that period. In an attempt to examine the effects of adolescent reporting errors on measures of contraceptive use, the investigators constructed three alternative measures of contraceptive continuation. The simplest measure assessed current use at 15 months. A second measure accepted only reports of continuous use at 15 months and ignored inconsistent data. The third measure corrected for inconsistent data. Applying these measures to the study population produced proportions of contraceptive continuation ranging from a low of 43 percent when the most stringent measure was used to a high of 82 percent for the current-use category. Whatever the measure used, much of the discontinuation appears to have occurred in the first three months after the initial visit to a family planning clinic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) An attempt to find a reliable way to measure contraceptive continuation among teenagers was made in a study of 445 adolescents under age 18 who made an initial visit to 1 of 9 clinics in the Philadelphia area in 1980 and 1981. They were interviewed at the 1st visit and at 6 and 15 months to collect background characteristics, pregnancy history, and contraceptive use. A number of measures were used to produce proportions of contraceptive continuation, but whichever was used, much of the discontinuation occurred in the 1st 3 months after the initial visit. When a life-table format was used to determine the probability of pregnancy, teenagers who reported the most consistent use of birth control were considerably less likely to become pregnant. In an examination of characteristics thought to predict practice, the most discriminating measure found that older adolescents, whites, those with working parents, and those who had parents with higher levels of eduation were most likely to be conscientious users of contraceptives. Other characteristics that had a positive association with continuous use were being college bound, still in school or currently employed; having above-average grades; and having a steady sexual relationship. Satisfaction with and the convenience of the birth control method were characteristics also related to consistent use. A multiple regression analysis found that not only was the last named characteristic a variable that could be considered a good predictor of contraceptive use, but also the following 3: teenagers who were in school or working, those who had at least 1 working parent, and those with steady boyfriends.
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