Sterilization among currently married men in the United States, 1991

Data from the 1991 National Survey of Men indicate that about 12% of married men aged 20-39 have had a vasectomy and about 13% are married to a woman who is sterilized. Multivariate analyses indicate that the likelihood of sterilization rises with husband's age, wife's age, duration of marriage and number of children. Black couples are significantly less likely than white couples to rely on sterilization, and interracial couples are less likely than same-race couples to be sterilized. The likelihood of reliance on vasectomy rather than tubal ligation also rises with husband's age, while black men are significantly less likely than white men to elect male over female sterilization. Use of male sterilization is strongly associated with having had a recent contraceptive failure while using a male method.