Comparison of Contraception Method and Associated Risk Among US High School Students

Adolescent unintentional pregnancy and sexual transmitted infections (STIs) are at an alarming rating in the United States. The factors that contribute to high rates of unintentional pregnancy and STIs among adolescents are lack of contraception use and other risk behaviors. As such, this study sought to assess the relationship between type of contraception used during last sexual intercourse and risk behaviors among high school adolescents. Data for this study were derived from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Study (YRBS). A total of 13,677 participants completed the YRBS in 2019. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the association between contraceptive type (i.e., condom, oral birth control, withdrawal, no method) and risk behavior. Results found that those students who reported condom use were less likely to engage in certain substance use behaviors and sexual risk taking compared to those who used no contraceptive method, oral birth control, or withdrawal. The results seem to suggest that condom use and risk-taking behaviors are somewhat interconnected in that condom users were found to be more protective in their behaviors.