Contraceptive method switching among American female adolescents, 1979

Better knowledge about contraceptive use in adolescents is needed if pregnancy prevention is to be improved. Data from the 1979 National Survey of Young Women were used to examine method switching once contraceptive use had begun among 449 never-pregnant young women who reported premarital intercourse more than once. Bivariate chi2 tests and multivariate logit regression were used to examine factors related to switching in four analyses: overall switching; switching among those with one intercourse partner; and switching from nonmedical and medical methods separately. Frequency of intercourse and type of first method had an interactive effect on switching; length of exposure to switching, type of relationship, and reason for choosing the first method were also significant. These results suggest that providers and educators should consider the circumstances under which contraceptive methods are chosen and used by young women when counseling them as to what method may be best for them.