Investigating correlates of daily and nondaily contraception use among college-aged women

One-third of unintended pregnancies in South Carolina are among women in their twenties. The majority of these women report using the oral contraceptive pill as their primary method of birth control. Typical use of the oral contraceptive pill has an 8.7% failure rate, while nondaily and long-acting reversible contraceptive options, such as the IUD and implant, have less than a 1% failure rate, reducing the risk of unintended pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate correlates of daily and nondaily contraception use in order to increase usage among college-aged women. Participants aged 18 to 24 years completed 663 self-administered cross-sectional web-based surveys. A multivariable logistic regression was conducted, with contraception use dichotomized into daily (oral contraceptive pill) and nondaily (IUD, implant, injection, patch, vaginal ring) method categories. Nondaily users were significantly more likely to have a history of vaginal (p=.02) and anal (p=.01) intercourse, giving (p=.02) and receiving (p=.02) oral sex, and a greater frequency of solo masturbation (p<.01) during the past four weeks than daily users. Model results showed those who classified as overweight or obese were significantly more likely to primarily use nondaily contraceptive methods (OR 3.82; 95% CI [1.61, 8.77]; p<0.01) than their normal weight counterpart. Findings suggest the importance of promoting nondaily methods to all college-aged women as the most effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy, especially among those with a robust sexual history.