Abstract
This study prospectively investigates associations among youth religiosity, religious denomination, and contraception use. Associations between youth religiosity and religious denomination, and type of contraceptive used and consistent contraceptive use among sexually active youth (N = 757) were analyzed using multinomial and binomial logistic regression. Identifying with a religious denomination was a predictor of dual contraceptive use relative to using no method of contraception (AOR = 2.17). There was no association between youth religiosity and type of contraceptive use or contraceptive consistency. Religious leaders and public health practitioners should collaborate to develop strategies to engage in conversations with sexually active youth about contraceptive use.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American College of Obstetricians Gynecologists. (2012). Committee opinion no. 539. Adolescents and long-acting reversible contraception: Implants and intrauterine devices. Obstetrics and Gynecology,120, 983–988.
Boonstra, H. D. (2014). What is behind the declines in teen pregnancy rates? Guttmacher Policy Review,17(3), 15.
Brewster, K. L., Cooksey, E. C., Guilkey, D. K., & Rindfuss, R. R. (1998). The changing impact of religion on the sexual and contraceptive behavior of adolescent women in the United States. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 493–504.
Card, J., Brindis, C., Peterson, J., & Niego, S. (1999a). Prevention minimum evaluation data set (PMEDS) (3rd ed.). Los Altos, CA: Program Archive on Sexuality Health and Adolescence (PASHA).
Card, J. J., Lang, E. L., Peterson, J. L., Brindis, C., & Eisen, M. (1999b). Prevention minimum evaluation data set (PMEDS): A minimum data set for evaluating programs aimed at preventing adolescent pregnancy and STD/HIV/AIDS (3rd ed.). Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics Corporation.
Casper, L. M. (1990). Does family interaction prevent adolescent pregnancy? Family Planning Perspectives, 22, 109–114.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Sexual experience and contraceptive use among female teens-United States, 1995, 2002, and 2006–2010. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,61(17), 297.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). 1991–2013 high school youth risk behavior surveillance system data youth online [Interactive Data Tables]’. from https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/App/Default.aspx?SID=HS.
Committee on Adolescence. (2014). Contraception for Adolescents. Pediatrics,134(4), e1244–e1256. doi:10.1542/peds.2014-2299.
Cooksey, E. C., Rindfuss, R. R., & Guilkey, D. K. (1996). The initiation of adolescent sexual and contraceptive behavior during changing times. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 37, 59–74.
General Board of the American Baptist Churches. (1994). American Baptist resolution on the United States ratification of the United Nations of conventions on the elimination of discrimination against women from http://www.abc-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/RATIFICATION.pdf.
Gold, M. A., Sheftel, A. V., Chiappetta, L., Young, A. J., Zuckoff, A., DiClemente, C. C., et al. (2010). Associations between religiosity and sexual and contraceptive behaviors. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology,23(5), 290–297.
Goldfarb, E. S., & Casparian, E. M. (2000). Our whole lives: Sexuality education for grades 10–12. Boston, MA: Unitarian Universalist Association, United Church Board for Homeland Ministries.
Hamilton, B. E., Martin, J. A., Osterman, M. J. K., Curtin, S. C., & Mathews, T. J. (2015). Births: Final data for 2014. National Vital Statistics Reports,64(12), 1–64.
Hardy, S. A., & Raffaelli, M. (2003). Adolescent religiosity and sexuality: An investigation of reciprocal influences. Journal of Adolescence,26(6), 731–739.
Harris, K. M., Halpern, C. T., Whitsel, E., Hussey, J., Tabor, J., Entzel, P., et al. (2009). The national longitudinal study of adolescent health: Research design. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Holcombe, E., Peterson, K., Manlove, J., & Scarupa, H. J. (2009). Ten reasons to still keep the focus on teen childbearing. Child Trends Research Brief. https://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Child_Trends-2009_04_01_RB_KeepingFocus.pdf.
Hotz, V. J., McElroy, S. W., & Sanders, S. G. (1997). The impacts of teenage childbearing on the mothers and the consequences of those impacts for government. In R. A. Maynard (Ed.), Kids having kids: Economic costs and social consequences of teen pregnancy (pp. 55–94). Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.
Jones, R. K., & Dreweke, J. (2011). Countering conventional wisdom: New evidence on religion and contraceptive use. New York: Guttmacher Institute.
Kann, L., Kinchen, S., Shanklin, S. L., Flint, K. H., Kawkins, J., Harris, W. A., et al. (2014). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2013. MMWR Surveillance Summary,63(Supplement 4), 1–168.
Kirby, D., Lepore, G., & Ryan, J. (2005). Sexual risk and protective factors: Factors affecting teen sexual behavior, pregnancy, childbearing, and sexually transmitted diseasese: Which are important? Which can you change? Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
Manlove, J. S., Terry-Humen, E., Ikramullah, E. N., & Moore, K. A. (2006). The role of parent religiosity in teens’ transitions to sex and contraception. Journal of Adolescent Health,39(4), 578–587.
Manlove, J., Logan, C., Moore, K. A., & Ikramullah, E. (2008). Pathways from family religiosity to adolescent sexual activity and contraceptive use. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health,40(2), 105–117.
Martinez, G., Copen, C. E., & Abma, J. C. (2011). Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive use, and childbearing, 2006–2010 national survey of family growth. Vital and Health Statistics,23(31), 1–35.
Mauldon, J., & Luker, K. (1996). The effects of contraceptive education on method use at first intercourse. Family Planning Perspectives, 28, 19–41.
Nonnemaker, J. M., McNeely, C. A., & Blum, R. W. (2003). Public and private domains of religiosity and adolescent health risk behaviors: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Social Science and Medicine,57(11), 2049–2054.
Oman, R. F., Vesely, S. K., Aspy, C. B., Fluhr, J., Marshall, L., Calhoun, G., et al. (2009). Methodological considerations in a community-based longitudinal study. American Journal of Health Behavior,33(1), 58–68.
Oman, R. F., Vesely, S. K., Aspy, C. B., Tolma, E. L., Gavin, L., Bensyl, D. M., et al. (2013). A longitudinal study of youth assets, neighborhood conditions, and youth sexual behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health,52(6), 779–785.
Penman-Aguilar, A., Carter, M., Snead, M. C., & Kourtis, A. P. (2013). Socioeconomic disadvantage as a social determinant of teen childbearing in the US. Public Health Reports,128(Suppl 1), 5–22.
Perper, K., Peterson, K., & Manlove, J. (2010). Diploma attainment among teen mothers. Washington, DC: Child Trends, Fact Sheet. Publication #2010-01.
Romero, L., Pazol, K., Warner, L., Gavin, L., Moskosky, S., Besera, G., et al. (2015). Vital signs: Trends in use of long-acting reversible contraception among teens aged 15–19 years seeking contraceptive services—United States, 2005–2013. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,64(13), 363–369.
SAS Institute Inc. (2011). SAS®9.3: Software. Cary, NC: SAS Institute, Inc.
Singh, S., Darroch, J. E., & Frost, J. J. (2001). Socioeconomic disadvantage and adolescent women’s sexual and reproductive behavior: The case of five developed countries. Family Planning Perspectives, 33, 251–289.
Studer, M., & Thornton, A. (1987). Adolescent religiosity and contraceptive usage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 117–128.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. (2011). Counting it up: Key Data. Washington, DC: Author.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. (2013a). Countering the silence: A faith leader’s toolkit for preventing teen pregnancy. Washington, DC.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. (2013b). Tips to help faith leaders and their communities address teen pregnancy. Washington, DC.
Trussell, J. (2011). Contraceptive failure in the United States. Contraception,83(5), 397–404.
United Methodist Church. (2012). The book of resolutions of the United Methodist Church. Nashville: Tennessee United Methodist Publishing House.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded Grant 5 U01 DP000132 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and funding from the Inasmuch Foundation. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC or Inasmuch Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Human and Animal Rights
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Green, J., Oman, R.F., Vesely, S.K. et al. Prospective Associations Among Youth Religiosity and Religious Denomination and Youth Contraception Use. J Relig Health 59, 555–569 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0426-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0426-9