A profile of the adolescent male family planning client

Family planning programs and policies increasingly focus on the male partner's roles and responsibilities in contraceptive decision-making and use. To effectively tailor services for males, policymakers and providers must refine their understanding of men's psychosocial and reproductive health needs.

Using self-administered questionnaires, 1,540 sexually active males aged 19 and younger who attended family planning clinics in California provided information about their sexual behavior, contraceptive use, pregnancy and parenting history, and psychosocial characteristics. Logistic regression was used to examine factors that contributed to effective contraceptive use.

Although 73% of participants reported having used a birth control method at first intercourse, only 59% said that they or their partner had used an effective method at last intercourse, and 35% had used no method. If the client was uncomfortable with his method, the odds that he had used an effective method at last intercourse were reduced (odds ratio, 0.4). The likelihood of use at last intercourse was increased among males who agreed with their partner about their method and those who had never impregnated a partner (1.4 and 1.9, respectively).

To adequately serve young males, clinics must take into account their sexual and contraceptive histories. But screening should go beyond traditional family planning techniques to discuss how to improve communication with partners and other lifestyle issues that may interfere with consistent use.