Contraceptive Use Among Adolescents With and Without Disabilities

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess contraceptive use at last intercourse among adolescent girls with and without disabilities.

Methods: Data were from the 2015 and 2017 Oregon Healthy Teens survey, a state-wide representative sample of 11th grade students. Among respondents at risk for unplanned pregnancy (n = 3,702), we estimated the prevalence of contraceptive method used at last intercourse-including intrauterine device, implant, Depo-Provera, oral contraceptive pills, patch, ring, condoms, withdrawal, and emergency contraception-by disability status. We used multivariable Poisson regression to measure the association between disability status and use of any contraceptive.

Results: Girls with disabilities were more likely to report having had intercourse compared to girls without disabilities (49.2% vs. 37.4%). Girls with disabilities were less likely to use oral contraceptive pills (32.8% vs. 36.6%) or condoms (51.9% vs. 59.7%) compared to their non-disabled peers. After adjusting for demographic factors, 92.3% of girls with disabilities reported using any contraceptive method compared to 94.7% of girls without a disability (adjusted prevalence difference -2.6%, 95% CI -.26%, -4.9%; adjusted prevalence ratio .97, 95% CI .95-1.00, p = .03).

Conclusions: We observed high levels of contraceptive use among Oregon high school girls. Still, girls with disabilities were slightly less likely to report contraceptive use compared to their non-disabled peers. Given the high proportion of teens with disabilities who are sexually active, the magnitude of the difference in contraceptive use could be of concern on a national scale and further research is warranted.

Keywords: Adolescent; Contraception; Contraceptive methods; Disabled persons.