Revisiting the Association between Race, Ethnicity, and Beliefs about Pregnancy

Black and Latinx individuals are often the focus of health educational efforts to 'correct' perceived flawed beliefs about pregnancy, in order to increase contraceptive use and reduce unintended pregnancies. We sought to revisit the association between race, ethnicity, and beliefs about pregnancy.

We administered a web-based survey to 2,099 heterosexual men and women aged 21-44 years, using non-probability quota sampling. We analyzed a subset who were not currently pregnant (n=1,884) and conducted chi-square tests to examine the association between race/ethnicity and beliefs about avoiding pregnancy (can be avoided, determined by fate/God, 'just happens,' and is a natural process). We then performed a two-stage multinomial logistic regression, modeling the belief that pregnancy can be avoided. The first model included sociodemographic characteristics and the second model added feelings about pregnancy.

Bivariate analyses revealed that, compared with Whites, those who identified as Black/African American or Latinx were significantly more likely to believe that pregnancy was determined by fate/God (15%,13% vs 9%, respectively) or a natural process (13%,13% vs 9%, respectively) and less likely to report that it can be avoided (57%,56% vs 67%, respectively; P=.001). In the first regression model, these differences persisted. However, in the second model, being Black/African American or Latinx was not significantly associated with beliefs about avoiding pregnancy.

Our findings suggest that once more nuanced beliefs about pregnancy prevention are considered, Black and Latinx individuals do not hold strongly different beliefs than Whites. Efforts that exclusively focus on people of color to change beliefs about pregnancy appear unwarranted.