New Study Examines Adolescents' Partners and Condom Use

A new study in Family Planning Perspectives examined the association between demographic characteristics of adolescents' heterosexual partners and adolescents' use of condoms and contraception. Researchers analyzed nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health which included in-school surveys and at-home interviews with students in grades 7 through 12.

To determine characteristics of adolescents' heterosexual partners, researchers looked at a variety of measures including: type of partner (whether romantic or nonromantic); duration of relationship (measured by number of months from first intercourse to last intercourse); age, race and ethnicity, grade, school (whether partner attended same school); and neighborhood (whether partner lived in same neighborhood). Researchers then looked at condom use to determine if condoms were ever used and if they were used every time and contraceptive use to determine whether a contraceptive method was used and if another method of contraception was used in combination with condoms.

Key Findings

• 78% of reported relationships were with someone of the same race or ethnicity.
• 55% of relationships involved partners within two years of age, 32% involved partners who were two or more years older, and 13% involved partners who were two or more years younger.
• 70% of reported relationships were with partners who lived in different neighborhoods, whereas 40% were with partners who went to the same school.
• Use of any contraceptive method, including condoms, occurred in 64% of reported relationships, condom use occurred in 59% of reported relationships, and dual method use occurred in a third of reported relationships.

Analysis

• Adolescents whose partners were of different race or ethnicity were more likely to report having ever used condoms.
• Adolescents whose partners were more than two years older were less likely to report use of any type of contraceptive.
• Adolescents were more likely to report condom use with partners from a different neighborhood but were less likely to report condom use with partners who attended a different school.
• In relationships with nonromantic partners, adolescents were less likely to report condom use with both younger partners and older partners than with partners who were within two years of adolescents' age.

The authors conclude that many adolescents have relationships with partners whose characteristics differ from their own. They go on to say that to provide appropriate counseling, educators and health care providers need to discuss the dynamics of relationships involving partners who differ in age or other characteristics.