First premarital contraceptive use: United States, 1960-82

This study shows the first national estimates of trends and differentials in first contraceptive use for a national sample of all women. Only 47 percent of women aged 15-44 in 1982 (or their partners) used a method at first premarital intercourse. The leading method at first intercourse was the condom, followed by the pill and withdrawal. The percentage using a method increased from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, because of increases in use of the pill and withdrawal. However, in the early 1980s, use at first intercourse increased sharply because of an increase in use of the condom. The proportion who used a method at first intercourse varied from 22 percent among Hispanic women to 74 percent among Jewish women; it was higher among white than black women, and higher in higher socioeconomic categories. After first intercourse, contraceptive use did not vary significantly by socioeconomic characteristics. While the condom was the leading method at first intercourse, women who practiced contraception for the first time after first intercourse typically used the pill.