Purpose: To ascertain views of public high school students on preventing teen pregnancy. The authors hypothesized that students at varying risk for pregnancy (e.g., abstinent, consistent contraceptors, inconsistent contraceptors) would have differing views which would have implications for future pregnancy prevention programming.
Methods: A 75-question anonymous survey designed for this study was administered in six Boston high schools. The sample consisted of 49% females and 51% males in 10th and 11th grades from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. One thousand surveys were received and analyzed using Chi-square tests to assess statistically significant differences in student responses.
Results: Sixty-three percent of the students had had sexual intercourse: 72% of males and 54% of females. Of these, 35% were consistent contraceptors and 65% were inconsistent. Students believed that having more information on pregnancy and birth control (52%), education about relationships (33%), parental communication (32%), improved contraceptive access (31%), and education about parenting realities (30%) would prevent teen pregnancy. Abstinent teens were more likely (58%) to say that information on pregnancy and birth control was important (p<.05), whereas consistently contracepting teens were more likely (40%) to identify greater access to birth control (p <.01). Males were more likely than females to prefer their information on contraception from parents (23% vs. 18%) and health education classes (16% vs. 7.5%), whereas females were more likely than males to prefer the health arena (51% vs. 27%) (p<.001). Teens using contraception were also more likely to be having frequent conversations with parents (49%) (p<.001). When asked why they had not used contraception, inconsistent contraceptors were more likely than others to say that they never thought of it (15%) (p<.001).
Conclusions: Teens report that having more information from parents, school, and health arenas can prevent pregnancy. Abstinent, consistent contraceptors, and inconsistent contraceptors have different preferences regarding strategies. This information has important implications for educational content and policy discussions.
PIP: This survey determined the views of public high school students on teen pregnancy prevention. The authors hypothesized that students at varying risk for pregnancy would have differing views, which would have implications for future pregnancy prevention programming. A 75-question anonymous survey was designed and administered in 6 Boston high schools. A total of 1000 10th- and 11th-grade students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds completed the questionnaire. The overall analysis showed that 63% of the students had had sexual intercourse: 72% of males and 54% of females. Among these, 35% were consistent contraceptors and 65% were inconsistent. Teens enumerated the factors that will prevent teen pregnancy. These include having more information on pregnancy and birth control (52%), education about relationships (33%), parental communication (32%), improved contraceptive access (31%), and education about parenting realities (30%). Moreover, abstinent, consistent contraceptors, and inconsistent contraceptors had different preferences regarding strategies. Such findings have important implications for educational content and policy discussions.