Unintended pregnancies among unmarried sexually active female college students attending 2-year vs. 4-year institutions in the West region of the United States

Rates of unintended pregnancy among older teens (aged 18-19 years) and young adults (aged 20-24 years) in the United States have increased or remained unchanged over the past several decades. However, little research has investigated unintended pregnancies among unmarried sexually active female college students in the U.S. or compared unintended pregnancy rates between women attending 2-year versus 4-year institutions. Cross-sectional data from the Spring 2007 National College Health Assessment were utilized to identify factors associated with an unintended pregnancy (past year) among 6,165 unmarried sexually active females of traditional college age (18-24 years) attending 2-year (n=1,433) and 4-year (n=4,732) institutions in the West region of the United States. Bivariate comparisons were examined and more sophisticated associations were assessed in multivariate logistic regression models. Unmarried sexually active female college students attending 2-year institutions were significantly (p<.001) more likely than students attending 4-year institutions to have experienced an unintended pregnancy in the past year (5.3% vs. 1.8%, respectively). In addition, race/ethnicity, ever being tested for HIV, having a gynecological exam (past year), having unprotected sex as a consequence of drinking alcohol (past year), being in a physically abusive relationship (past year), and use/non-use of specific contraceptive methods (last vaginal intercourse) were significantly associated with an unintended pregnancy among these college women. These results are important to sexual health and pregnancy prevention programs targeting female college students in the West region of the U.S. Additional research is needed to further investigate unintended pregnancy risk among college women attending 2-year versus 4-year institutions.