Noncontracepting behavior in women at risk for unintended pregnancy: what's religion got to do with it?
OBJECTIVE
In the United States, 49% of all pregnancies are unintended. Part of this high rate has been attributed to the negative effects of higher levels of personal and community-level religiosity in this country. To explore the impacts of individual-level religiosity on unintended pregnancy, we used 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) data to model the relationship between religion and noncontracepting behavior, a crucial precursor to unintended pregnancies.


METHODS
We tested logistic models with current and childhood religious affiliation as primary exposures and recent noncontracepting behavior as the outcome, controlling for demographic covariates, religious service importance, and attendance frequency.


RESULTS
An estimated 32.7 million women are at risk for unintended pregnancy, 14 % of whom use no contraception. Proportions of noncontraceptors were 15.5 % among Catholics, 10.3% among mainstream Protestants, and 15.0% among fundamentalist Protestants. In multivariate modeling, religion was significantly related to not contracepting in teens, but noncontributory for women from 20 to 44 years of age. Variables associated with contraceptive behavior included marital status, age, education, and income.


CONCLUSIONS
Among women, current and childhood religious affiliations modify odds ratio for noncontracepting behavior only among teenage girls. For adults, odds ratio vary widely by marital status, education, and income, but not by religious affiliation.
Kramer
Michael R
MR
Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. mkram02@sph.emory.edu
Hogue
Carol J Rowland
CJ
Gaydos
Laura M D
LM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002410:Catholicism; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D007599:Judaism; D016015:Logistic Models; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned / Q000208:ethnology*; D033303:Protestantism; D012071:Religion and Sex; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States