Reproductive Coercion Among High School Students

Reproductive coercion can include a male partner pressuring their significant other to become pregnant, forced sex, or destroying contraception, which may contribute to teen pregnancy. Reproductive coercion is associated with intimate partner violence, but may not be widely identified as physical or sexual violence may not occur simultaneously. In a cross-sectional survey of high school students in Spring 2010 (n=17,220), responses to the following questions were, “In the past 12 months has a current or previous boyfriend or girlfriend: 1) said to you: a) You want us to use birth control or condoms so you can sleep around with other people (5.8%); b) If we have a baby, you will never have to worry about me leaving you (27.7%); c) You would have a baby with me if you really loved me (9.4%); 2) Not allowed you to use birth control or condoms when you wanted (7.3%); 3) Forced you to have sex when you were not using birth control or condoms (6.5%). The association of age, race/ethnicity, receipt of free or reduced lunch, and relationship status and quality with reproductive coercion will also be examined. The most common item was being told that having a baby would mean their partner would never leave, which is concerning if this is perceived as a desire to have a baby now. Teens in relationships with a partner who uses coercive tactics may have trouble negotiating contraceptive use. Understanding male partners' influences in teen pregnancies is critical for improving pregnancy prevention programs.