SPOUSES VIEWS OF CONTRACEPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Data from a 1993 survey in the Philippines indicate that, in the aggre gate, men and women have similar views of contraception. For example, 72% of husbands and 77% of wives strongly approved of contraception, a nd at least half believed that relatives and friends approved (althoug h men were less likely than women to think so). At the couple level, h owever, men's perceptions about contraception often differ from those of their wives. A relatively large amount of disagreement exists about the importance of certain contraceptive attributes and the extent to which these attributes apply to specific methods. This disagreement is associated both with lower levels of contraceptive use and with great er conflict over intentions to use contraceptives in the future. For e xample, when both spouses approve of family planning in general, 81% o f couples share the same intentions to practice contraception in the f uture; but among couples who disagree over approval of contraception, just 43% share intentions about future use.