High school students' attitudes towards and use of contraceptives

A questionnaire survey was conducted in an urban coeducational secondary school in the North Island region. Of the 162 adolescents sampled in this study, 39 percent reported coital experience. Of these coitally experienced students, contraception was always used by only 42%. The pill and the condom were reported as the most used contraceptives. Females were found to be significantly better contraceptive users than males. Although many students report preferring their parents as a source of contraceptive information, the majority of both males and females relied upon school sex education classes as their main source of their contraceptive education. Students ability to discuss contraceptive matters with parents was found to have no effect upon coital activity. These results indicate that society must come to terms with the fact that many adolescent New Zealanders are sexually active and run a high risk of having unplanned, unwanted pregnancies.