Female adolescent contraceptive use or nonuse at first and most recent coitus

The purpose of this study was to determine factors that differentiate contraceptive use behaviors of sexually active adolescent women. A sample of 159 subjects, recruited from three publicly supported family planning clinics, were classified according to nonuse, inconsistent, or consistent use of contraceptives at first and most recent coitus. The Health Promotion Model provided the organizing framework for this study. Factors entered into the discriminate functions included self-image, problem solving, health-promoting behavior, race, age at first coitus, previous pregnancy, contraceptive history, chronological age, family structure and size, mother's education, and Medicaid status. Three-group multivariate discriminate analysis resulted in two significant functions that explained 38.7% of the variance in contraceptive behavior. The three groups of adolescents were discriminated by age at first coitus, history of previous pregnancy, health-promoting behavior, self-image, problem-solving skill, chronological age, family size, and race. In particular, the findings suggest public health nurses and other health care providers can reduce unintended pregnancy through interventions that address the alterable factors.