Who is responsible for contraception: Racial/ethnic differences among adolescents in Texas

While adolescent fertility in the United States has declined over the last 15 to 20 years, childbearing among Latina adolescents has declined at a much slower rate relative to teens in other racial/ethnic groups. Differences in attitudes toward contraception have been cited as one of the factors that may explain higher fertility rates among Latinas. In the Texas Teen Opportunity Project we conducted race/ethnicity- and gender-specific focus groups among Mexican-American, African-American and White youth. Specifically, for each racial/ethnic group we conducted 6 focus groups with adolescent or young adult women and 6 groups with young adult men, for a total of 36 focus groups. We identified three main themes to describe youths' attitudes toward responsibility for contraception. Most often, adolescents and young adults stated that both partners were responsible for ensuring a contraceptive method was used since both share the consequences of sexual activity. Youth also stated using contraception was a personal responsibility. While some mentioned this in terms of taking responsibility for one's actions, others stated personal responsibility was due to a lack of trust in their partner. Finally, many young adults stated that girls were primarily responsible for the use of contraception in sexual relationships. Youth from all racial/ethnic groups endorsed these themes; however, African-American youth more frequently discussed a personal responsibility to use contraception, and Mexican-American youth more often reported that contraception was girls' responsibility. These findings suggest a need to develop culturally-specific educational messages surrounding contraception for youth in Texas.