[Factors associated with maintenance of contraception among adolescents].
BACKGROUND
Factors such as personal issues, family, sexuality and sexual partner characteristics are strongly associated with contraceptive continuation among single, nulliparous female adolescents.


OBJECTIVE
To determine factors associated to contraceptive maintenance among female nulliparous adolescents.


METHODS
A cohort of 2,811 adolescents, who confidentially requested contraception in a sexual and reproductive health university center from 1990 to 2006 was analyzed. Two years after the request, their clinical records were reviewed to determine the time and length of contraception. Using life table analysis, the variables related to continuation or discontinuation of contraception were identified.


RESULTS
Factors associated with a longer contraceptive use were a lower age at the moment of initiating the method, a better academic achievement and aspirations, higher schooling of the partner, higher age of the mother, having an adolescent mother, supervision of permissions by people different than parents and not attending to religious services. Variables associated with a higher risk for abandonment were a higher age of the adolescent, greater number of sexual partners, lack of communication with parents, non-catholic religious affiliation, use of oral hormonal contraceptive, greater number of siblings, commenting sexual issues with relatives or friends, having a partner without academic activity or working and to live without parents.


CONCLUSIONS
Several personal, familial and environmental factors influence contraceptive use continuity among adolescents.
González
Electra
E
Centro de Medicina Reproductiva y Desarrollo Integral de la Adolescencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. evgonzalez@med.uchile.cl
Molina B
Temístocles
T
Montero
Adela
A
Martínez
Vania
V
Molina
Ramiro
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D012067:Religion; D012747:Sexual Partners; D055815:Young Adult