Perceived competence and contraceptive use during adolescence.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about psychosocial correlates of different contraceptive methods in adolescence.


METHODS
Cross-sectional analyses of 209 postmenarcheal girls [mean age (years)+/-SD=15.68+/-1.74], primarily Caucasian (62.8%) or African American (32.8%). Competence (activities and social) and rule-breaking behavior were assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR; adolescent) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; parent). Three contraceptive-use groups were created: no hormonal contraceptive (n=142), combined oral contraceptives or the transdermal patch (COCs/patch, n=41), and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA, n=20).


RESULTS
There was a significant effect of contraceptive-use group on competence (p=.003). The DMPA group had lower competence (CBCL activities and social; YSR social) than the no-hormonal-contraceptive and COCs/patch groups. The COCs/patch group scored lower than the no-hormonal-contraceptive group on YSR activities competence, but was not different from the DMPA group. Lastly, there was an effect of contraceptive-use group on CBCL (but not YSR) rule-breaking behavior (p=.029) with the DMPA group having higher rule-breaking behavior than the other groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Type of contraceptive method was associated with parent and adolescent's perceived competence. For rule-breaking behavior, parental perception may be more relevant to contraceptive use.
Division of Adolescent Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. jennifer.hillman@cchmc.org
Jennifer B
JB
Hillman
Sonya
S
Negriff
Lorah D
LD
Dorn
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female