The Use of Effective Contraception among Young Hispanic Women: The Role of Acculturation

Purpose: Culture may play an important role in contraceptive preference among young Hispanic women. We examined whether acculturationpredicted the use of different contraceptives, grouped by level of efficacy in preventing pregnancy. Methods: 1017 sexually active Hispanic women between the ages of 16 and 24 (mean age 20.69 ± 2.42 years) responded to a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. Results: Women low in acculturation (OR 1.79, CI 1.06-3.02) and bicultural (OR 2.66, CI 1.52-4.64) were more likely than women high in acculturation to have used no method of contraception than long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Bicultural women were more likely to have used condoms than LARC (OR 2.51, CI 1.40-4.49) compared to women high in acculturation. Finally, women in low in acculturation (OR 1.98, CI 1.11-3.50) and bicultural (OR 1.88, CI 1.01-3.51) were more likely to have used cyclic hormonal contraception than LARC compared to women high in acculturation. Conclusions: Educational efforts should focus on young Hispanic women who are bicultural and low in acculturation in order to increase their use of more effective contraceptive methods and reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies among this population.