Adolescent contraceptive behavior: a review.

This review examines the psychologically oriented literature on adolescent contraceptive use. Descriptive studies individual difference studies and theory-based studies from family planning medical and applied journals are covered as well as studies appearing in psychology journals. The findings indicate that many teenagers are startlingly uninformed about basic reproductive physiology. A sizeable proportion of adolescents surveyed believed themselves to be immune to pregnancy or at least very unlikely to become pregnant even though they are unaware of the theoretical probability of pregnancy. 2nd birth control pills are popular with adolescents but condoms remain the only effective method of contraception used with any frequency at 1st intercourse. 3rd adolescents do not like to use contraceptives although it is unclear why. 4th personality variables specifically locus of control and self-esteem are correlated with contraceptive use but their effects are small and situationally limited. 5th contraceptive use increases with chronological age and frequency of intercourse although it is unclear whether these are direct or indirect relations. 6th adolescents nonuse of contraception is not irrational given their level of information beliefs and attitudes. Reasons for not using contraception include underestimating the possibility of pregnancy not having access to contraceptives and not anticipating the need for contraceptives. Moreover these beliefs and attitudes are powerful predictors of contraceptive behavior. A few problems with contraceptive use research include the lack of a standard classification system for birth control methods and vague descriptions of samples. Psychological methods using cognitive emotional and developmental factors have been used to predict and explain these behaviors and they hold promise for future research.