The sexual and reproductive behavior of American women, 1982-1988
Forrest, J.D.; Singh, S.
Family Planning Perspectives 22(5): 206-214
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-7354 PMID: 2272379 DOI: 10.2307/2135494Document Number: 371507
Comparison of 1988 data from the National Survey of Family Growth with 1982 data reveals that the proportion of US women who had sexual intercourse rose slightly, from 86% to 89%. Among teens, the proportion of sexually active rose from 47% to 53%; most of this change is attributable to increases occurring among white and nonpoor teenagers. Consequently, this narrows the racial and income differences. Among women ages 15-44 in 1988 who have ever had intercourse, 67% reported that they had 2 or more sexual partners in their lifetime. The proportion was highest among women ages 20-34 (about 70%), but 58% of sexually active teen women reported having had 2 or more sexual partners. About 67% of women of reproductive age in 1988 were exposed to the risk of unintended pregnancy, up from 63% in 1982. Among these women, 35% relied on contraceptive sterilization to prevent pregnancy and 55% used reversible methods, while 10% used no method. Poor women are more likely than nonpoor women to use no contraception (15 vs 8%); among poor teen, this figure rises to 25%. The level of contraceptive use at 1st intercourse among teen women improved substantially between 1982-88, however, by rising from 48% to 65%. During the period 1984-88, almost 4 in 10 births and almost 6 in 10 pregnancies among American women were unintended; most of these were mistimed, but 12% of births were entirely unwanted. Pregnancies among teens were the most likely to be unintended--82% in 1988 compared with 78% in 1982.