Contraceptive knowledge and behavior of conventionalists, careerists, idealists, bouncers, desperadoes, and outsiders

The aim of the survey was to determine the contraceptive behavior and knowl edge on contraceptive methods of adolescents. We defined six clusters accor ding to personality, leisure activities, and sociodemographic characteristi cs: conventionalists, careerists, idealists, bouncers, desperadoes, and out siders. 1010 Austrian adolescents aged 14-24 years participated in the surv ey. 96%-100% indicated that they were familiar with the condom and the cont raceptive pill. The two most popular contraceptive methods cited were the c ondom (39%) and OC (34%). Whereas 40% of conventionalists reported that OC were their preferred method of contraception, 53% of idealists indicated th at they preferred the condom. 66% of the desperadoes indicated that they co nsidered the pill expensive. 85% of conventionalists and careerists believe that OC offer the best protection against pregnancy. Clusters with higher self-esteem and those with a higher educational level were more likely to b elieve that this method is unreliable. The results obtained indicate that o utsiders, desperatoes, and bouncers show deficits in sex education; only ca reerists and idealists appeared to be better informed. Research on adolesce nt contraceptive behavior should drop the traditional stratifying criteria and appreciate the diversity of adolescent populations in order to be bette r able to classify adolescents according to their contraceptive attitudes.