Factors Influencing Contraceptive Use Among Sexually Active U.S. Middle and High School Students, 2015 to 2019

Objective The objective of this study is to see whether factors including the age of first sexual intercourse, sexual orientation, age at the time of survey administration, race/ethnicity, and sex affect condom and other types of contraceptive usage among United States middle and high school students. Methods We analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveys from the years 2015 to 2019. Students were asked questions about condom and specific type of contraceptive use (e.g. birth control pills, intrauterine device/implant, shot/patch/ring, withdrawal), age of first sexual intercourse, and sexual orientation, as well as demographic questions. Using a logistic regression model, we tested the linear effects on condom and contraception investigated variables. Results Differing sexual orientations had a significant relationship with both condom and contraceptive usage, with those who identified as lesbian or gay being least likely to use contraception as opposed to those who identified as straight, bisexual, or unsure. Female participants were 31.6% less likely to use contraception overall and 41.7% less likely to use condoms in comparison to male participants. With a one-year increase in the age of first sexual intercourse, contraceptive use overall increased by 23% and condom use specifically increased by 17%. With a one-year increase in a participant’s age at the time of survey administration, contraceptive use decreased by 7.4% and condom use decreased by 21%. Between the years 2015 to 2019, there was an average decrease of 5.3% in the usage of condoms. Conclusion We found significant differences in contraceptive and/or condom usage between students of different sexual orientations, sex, age of first sexual intercourse, age at the time of survey administration, and between different years studied. These differences could be attributed to differences in sex education, cultural background, and availability of resources. Further investigations should be conducted to delineate these differences.