Transitions onto and off of Hormonal Methods among Teens and Young Adults in the U.S.

Jennifer Manlove, Child Trends
Nicole R. Steward-Streng, Child Trends
Kate Welti, Child Trends

Consistent use of hormonal contraceptive methods can help reduce high rates of unintended pregnancy among teens and young adults in the U.S. We use 10 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort, to example transitions onto and off of hormonal methods among teens and young adults. Preliminary analyses find that 76% of our sample used hormonal methods at some point, but 56% of these women subsequently switched to a less effective method or no method. Preliminary discrete-time event history analyses indicate that greater educational engagement and performance are associated with greater odds of transitioning onto and staying on hormonal methods, while race/ethnic minorities have lower odds. Having multiple sexual partners, a casual relationship or a partner of a different race/ethnicity are associated with reduced odds of hormonal method use. We will run Latent Class Growth Models to better understand patterns of method use over time.