Oral contraceptive use among African American adolescents: individual and community influences
Meyers, A.B.; Rhodes, J.E.
American Journal of Community Psychology 23(1): 99-115
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0091-0562 PMID: 7572827 DOI: 10.1007/bf02506924Document Number: 294556
In Study 1 the prevalence and correlates of pill-related side effects were examined among 177 pregnant and parenting African American adolescents and young women from 2 social service settings. They were recruited between December 1989 and January 1991 in the inner city of a large US midwestern city. They were 14-22 years old with a mean age of 18.34. 27.1% were pregnant and 54% had 1 child, 22.2% had 2 children, 8% had 3 children, and 0.6% had 4 children. 96% of them had never been married, and 64.4% were not in school. 90.8% were receiving public assistance. They were interviewed about background demographic variables as well as scales of stress, psychological functioning, and social support. Pregnancy and birth control histories were also assessed along with patterns of medical and social service utilization. 107 of the participants were potential birth control users because they had been recently sexually active. 35 of these participants (32.7%) said that they had not used any contraceptives at last intercourse. 44 women (61%) using contraceptives at the time of their last intercourse were using oral contraceptives. Condoms accounted for 27.8% of those who used contraception at that time. Those who indicated that pill-related side effects interfered with birth control were significantly less likely to use any form of birth control than those who did not complain of such side effects (p 0.05). Study 2 involved 31 participants, a subset of the Study 1 sample, who were 14-21 years old. 40% were pregnant and 76.7% were not in school. 15 clinics attended by the participants were identified. 15 women had attended 1 or more comprehensive clinics and 15 had attended 1 or more neighborhood clinics. Among 5 comprehensive clinic users who cited barriers, 60% cited long lines, 20% cited rude staff, and 20% cited cost. Participants who used comprehensive clinics were less likely to report side effects as a problem than were participants who used neighborhood clinics (p 0.05).
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