An explanatory model of contraceptive use among young single women

Individual Differences in Attitude‐Behavior Consistency: The Prediction of Contraceptive Behavior

“…Contraceptive locus of control. The relationship between the psychological construct of locus of control (Rotter, 1954(Rotter, ,1966 and contraceptive use has received much attention over the past decade (Geis & Gerrard, 1984;Herold, Goodwin, & Lero, 1979;Lieberman, 1981;Lundy, 1972;Mac-Donald, 1970;%gal & DuCette, 1973). Locus of control refers to the expectancies individuals hold in any situation concerning the degree to which their own behavior as opposed to external forces determines reinforcements (Rotter, 1954(Rotter, , 1966.…”

“…Studies utilizing Rotter's (1966) scale, typically with college students, are approximately evenly split between those whose results support the relationship (Blignault & Brown, 1979;Dignan, 1979;Fox, 1977;Lundy, 1972) and those which do not (Gibb & Millard, 1981;Gough, 1973;Lieberman, 1981). Studies which measured locus of control using instruments other than Rotter's scale also have produced inconsistent results (Foreit & Foreit, 1981;Geis & Gerrard, 1984;Groat & Neal, 1967;Herold, Goodwin, & Lero, 1979;Keller, Sims, Henry, & Crawford, 1970;Steinlauf, 1979). Rotter (1975) suggests an explanation for the mixed results concerning the relationship of locus of control to many areas of behavior.…”

“…Based on an analysis of the social structure the author hypothesized that males had less favorable attitudes because they were not typically responsible for raising their offspring. More recent studies among unmamed young women have generally found a positive relationship between the male partner's attitude toward contraception and the woman's behavior (Crosbie & Bitte, 1982;Herold, 1980;Herold & McNamee, 1982;Thompson & Spanier, 1978;Venham, 1975;Werner & Middlestat, 1979). For example, the most comprehensive study to date of social influences compared the relative importance of partner, peer, and parental attitudes for young single women and the interrelationships among these variables (Thompson & Spanier, 1978).…”

The Importance of Contraceptive Attributes Among College Students

“…Another factor to address in the provision of family planning services is the influence of the male partner on contraceptive use. Previous research (Beckman & Bardsley, 1981;Herold & McNamee, 1982;Thompson & Spanier, 1978) has suggested that the male has a significant influence on whether or not a contraceptive is used. From our data, we know that men and women may differ in their desired contraceptive attributes.…”

“…However, for contraception to be relevant, a woman must have a male partner. Recent data suggest (Herold & McNamee, 1982;Miller, 1986) that a woman's partner may have a major impact on her use or nonuse of contraception. Thus, understanding what men perceive as desirable and important characteristics of contraceptive methods could promote the acceptance and continued use of birth control methods.…”