Perceptions of sexual responsibility: do young men and women agree?
Sheehan, M.K.; Ostwald, S.K.; Rothenberger, J.
Pediatric Nursing 12(1): 17-21
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0097-9805 PMID: 3633068 Document Number: 344381
A nonprobability, convenience sample of 248 subjects of a large midwestern university agreed to participate in this study designed to investigate the perception of responsibility for contraception among late adolescents (over age 17), to determine whether age, gender, or sexual activity influences perceptions of responsibility, and to explore the relationship between perceived contraceptive responsibility and subsequent contraceptive choice among late adolescent males and females. The students were enrolled in an undergraduate public health class during the 1984 spring quarter. After initial data examination, 28 married subjects were eliminated from analysis. Of the final sample size of 220 students, 131 were female and 89 were male. The majority of the students, 57.5%, were between the ages of 20-22; 19% were between the ages of 17-19; and the remaining 23% were older than 22. The students completed a questionnaire anonymously as part of the development of a slide-tape program entitled "Young Men's Sexual Responsibility." Contraceptive responsibility was defined as perceived responsibility for pregnancy control, perceived responsibility to initiate conversation about contraception in a dating relationship, and perceived responsibility for who should pay for contraceptives. 63% of the students indicated that they had engaged in sexual intercourse at least once. Male students were significantly more likely to have had sexual intercourse than female students. Only 7% of the entire sample reported having had intercourse before the age of 15, but this sample consisted primarily of white, middle-class college students who may not represent students in inner-city school districts reported to have had 1st intercourse at earlier ages. 91% of the students perceived contraceptive responsibility as a shared responsibility. Of the small number of students who perceived 1 sex or the other responsible for pregnancy control, most (7%) perceived that it was the woman's responsibility. No relationship was found between age or intercourse experience and perceived contraceptive responsibility. 52.3% of the students reported using effective birth control methods at 1st intercourse, but 37.2% reported not using contraceptives. The remaining students used 2 of the least effective methods for adolescents (withdrawal, 7.2%; rhythm, 3.5%). No relationship was found between the students' perception of responsibility for pregnancy control or responsibility for initiating a conversation about contraception and the type of contraceptive used at most recent intercourse. If the concept of shared responsibility is in fact an emerging value, health professionals and educators must reconsider sex education curricula for adolescents.