Male Adolescent Contraceptive Utilization.

Abstract

421 male students enrolled in 3 high schools in a large northeastern city completed a 46-tiem questionnaire in the spring of 1974 in order to examine contraceptive utilization among a sample of sexually active urban high school males. 34% of the sample are black; 37.8% are Hispanic; and 31.8% are white. 15% of the sexually experienced males indicated that they always used a condom during sexual intercourse and 35% reported using condoms some of the time. 1/4 reported that they never used condoms and 1/4 indicated that they hardly ever use condoms. Those who reported using the condom and those whose female partners used birth control are classified as being contraceptors. 55% of the sample are ineffective contraceptors. The findings indicate almost identical percentages for black and Hispanic males as effective and ineffective contraceptors but the majority of white males (59%) are effective contraceptors. 2/3 (68%) of those 15 years and younger are ineffective contraceptors while 63% of those 18-19 years old are effective contraceptors. Those 16 and 17 years are fairly evenly divided between effective and ineffective contraceptors. White males are more consistent in their use of the condom than their black and Hispanic counterparts. Many of the sexually experienced teen-agers in this sample failed to take effective precaution to avoid impregnanting their partner at last coitus. The most frequent reasons for failing to use contraceptives demonstrate that the males in this sample either were not prepared for sexual intercourse or were not concerned if their partner became pregnant.