Contraceptive Use Patterns within First Sexual Relationships

Suzanne Ryan, Child Trends
Elizabeth Terry-Humen, Child Trends
Kerry Franzetta, Child Trends

Our study examines the consistency of contraceptive use within adolescents’ and young adults’ first sexual relationships. Our primary goal is to enhance our understanding of how to sustain recent improvements in contraceptive use at first sex so that teens and young adults can become more consistent contraceptive users. We use a comparison of two nationally representative datasets – the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) -- to explore whether the factors important for adolescents’ contraceptive consistency differ from those important for young adults. Using bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analyses, we find that characteristics of the both sexual relationship and the sexual partner influence contraceptive consistency, net of individual and family background. Understanding patterns and predictors of contraceptive use among teens and young adults will help policymakers to develop strategies for preventing unintended pregnancies and STIs.