“Can you get pregnant when you're on your period?” Negotiating Sex Education: Questions & Misinformation

Given the recent increase in adolescent pregnancy, do youth receive and retain adequate health information on sexual decision making and contraception? What myths persist in spite of, or because of family life education? A multi-site focus group study was conducted by UCSF to explore teenagers' attitudes towards and knowledge of contraceptives and sexual health care services, and their communications and formal education about reproductive health in order to determine innovative and culturally-competent methods to prevent teen pregnancies, particularly among vulnerable populations. Focus groups, conducted separately by gender and ethnicity, were held in four counties throughout California with an oversampling of Latino youth, African-American, and White teenagers ages 15- 17 years old. Findings revealed teen's many questions and misinformation regarding birth control methods, Emergency Contraception (EC), Gardasil and how pregnancy occurs. While females had heard of hormonal contraceptives, EC, and Gardasil more often than males, both genders had misconceptions about how they worked, access, efficacy, and side effects. For example, one female asked about males taking EC, “Why they gonna get it for, to kill all their sperms?” Other questions or misconceptions included the age required to obtain EC, the effects of drugs on reproductive health, whether Gardasil prevents breast cancer, fertility effects from hormonal contraception, possibility of death from EC, and the efficacy of flavored condoms. In addition, the sources of misinformation, including parents, sex education programs, and friends, provide the context for current knowledge levels and opportunities for future intervention, including family life education curricula development and policy.