The results provide valuable data for programs intended to prevent
unplanned pregnancies that are aimed at young men, the researchers
write in American Journal of Men's Health.
“The scope of the study was really just to look at whether we could
use young men’s report in conducting evaluations of teen pregnancy
prevention programs, or other research studies that rely on young
men’s report,” lead author Samantha Garbers told Reuters Health in
an email.
“But, it also has implications for programming around communication
skills around birth control for young men, such as skill building
around talking with new partners about birth control,” said Garbers,
a researcher at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
in New York.
Unlike many other studies, Garbers said, in this case the study team
focused on how many young men were not able to answer the questions
about their partner’s contraception use.
“We were specifically interested in how many guys said they don’t
know – which is usually not reported when the results get written
up,” she said.
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Garbers and her colleagues examined data taken from the 2011-2013
National Survey of Family Growth, a large study that included men
and women 14 to 44 years old.
The researchers analyzed responses from 2,238 men whose last female
sex partner was not someone they were living with or married to, and
who were not trying to get pregnant with a partner or already had a
partner that was pregnant.
About 85 percent of the men were never married and almost half were
between the ages of 15 and 24.
Participants were asked, “That last time that you had sexual
intercourse with (most recent partner) did she use any methods to
prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease?” Those who
answered “yes” were next asked what methods their partner had used
and were shown a list of contraceptive methods to choose from.
“We were relieved to find that almost all men of all age groups were
able to answer the questions," Garbers said. "Overall, 95 percent
were able to answer both questions, and this did not differ
significantly across age groups."
The study could only determine if the men could answer the
questions, but not if their answers were accurate, Garbers noted.
About 17 percent of the men said no contraception was used at all in
their last sexual encounter, and another 30 percent said they had
used condoms but their partner did not use contraception.
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Race, ethnicity, education, even religious affiliations didn't
appear to affect the results, Garbers said, but what really mattered
was the relationship between the male and his last partner.
“Guys whose last sexual partner was a new partner, meaning they had
not had sex with that partner before that encounter, were
significantly more likely to be unable to report whether their
partner used a specific method" she said.
Almost 12 percent of the participants whose last encounter was with
a new partner couldn't report her birth control use, compared to
less than 4 percent of men whose last partner wasn’t new.
“This study highlights the importance of communication around the
issues of contraception and safe sex in any relationship. It takes
both a man and a woman to get pregnant, so both partners should be
aware of what they are doing to prevent pregnancy,” Dr. Rachel
Weinerman told Reuters Health in an email.
“It is reassuring to see that the overwhelming majority of men knew
about their partner’s contraceptive use,” said Weinerman, a
reproductive endocrinologist at the University Hospitals Ahuja
Medical Center in Beachwood, Ohio, and UH Cleveland Medical Center
who wasn’t involved in the study.
The findings also emphasize how important it is to have a
conversation about safe sex prior to that initial sexual encounter,
Weinerman said.
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"Every relationship is going to be different, but it doesn’t have to
be a long or awkward discussion. 'What kind of birth control do you
use?' is a straightforward question that female partners should
appreciate," she said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2ifaRYn American Journal of Men’s Health,
online December 5, 2016.
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