What About the Boys?: Using Behavioral Theory to Understand Young Adult Males' Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Contraceptives and Unintended Pregnancy

Background: Unintended pregnancy rates among 18-30 year olds are problematic in the US. Very little is known about how males think about unintended pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to describe men's attitudes and behaviors related to contraceptives and unintended pregnancy using the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) as a guide.

Method: Twenty-one 18-30 year old men were recruited across a rural, Midwestern state to participate in in-depth interviews. Participants were asked about characterizations of contraceptives, influences on contraceptive use, when contraceptives are used, barriers to using contraceptives, communicating about contraceptives, and characterizations of unintended pregnancy. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and analyzed for major themes using closed and open coding.

Findings: All five constructs of the EPPM (self-efficacy, response efficacy, susceptibility, severity, and fear) emerged as themes related to men's attitudes and behaviors. Related to contraceptive use, the majority of men had high self-efficacy and believed contraceptives have high response-efficacy. When they discussed unintended pregnancy, they believed they are not susceptible to pregnancy and the consequences of a pregnancy would be both good and bad. Men also feared their partners having an unintended pregnancy. Additionally, men recognized both costs and benefits associated with condom use for them and hormonal contraceptive use for their partners.

Discussion: We recommend the use of EPPM in designing interventions to improve men's of use contraceptives. Future research should focus on men's perceptions of susceptibility and ambivalent feelings about the severity of an unintended pregnancy.