Condom use and contraception non-use amongst 16-19 year olds: A within subjects comparison

The present study used a within subject design to examine which situation s pecific factors discriminated between the use of condoms and non-use of con traception in the context of preventing unwanted pregnancy. Adapting the me thodology of Gold et at. (1991, 1992), 215 16 to 19 year olds completed a q uestionnaire concerning the most recent time they had experienced sexual in tercourse without using contraception (the "without contraception" encounte r) and the most recent time they had experienced sexual intercourse using a condom (the "with a condom" encounter), The results showed that although p ast behaviour did not differentiate between the two encounters, situational factors relating to preparation for action, affect and interpersonal inter action were important. However, when analysed for men and women separately most of the differences were only found for women. In particular, the resul ts suggest that women report non-contraception use as associated with feeli ng more guilty, having a partner who is less motivated to use contraception than they are, with neither themselves nor their partner raising the desir e to use contraception, not expecting to have sex and not discussing contra ception and not having contraception available. In contrast, for men, only the availability of contraception appeared to differentiate between the two encounters. The results are discussed in terms of the usefulness of the me thodology and the associated shift in emphasis from users and non-users of contraception to use and non-use. The implications of the results in terms of health education interventions are also considered.