Choice of female-controlled barrier methods among young women and their male sexual partners.

CONTEXT Little is known about the factors associated with the choice of female-controlled, over-the-counter barrier contraceptive methods among women and their male sexual partners. METHODS Predictors of method choice were assessed following an educational presentation on contraceptive use and risk reduction among 510 sexually active females aged 15-30 who were recruited in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, the primary partners of 160 of these women participated in the survey RESULTS Twenty-two percent of women who enrolled in the study alone, 25% of those who enrolled with their main partner and 18% of these male partners chose female-controlled, over-the-counter barrier methods alone. The strongest predictor of this choice was current use of a hormonal contraceptive both for women who participated in the study on their own (odds ratio, 2.1) and for those who enrolled their partner in the study (odds ratio, 6.3). Female-controlled methods were also chosen significantly more often by teenagers than by older women; for example, among those who enrolled with a male partner, the odds ratio for selection of a female-controlled barrier method by women younger than 18 was 6.0. Among women who enrolled without a partner, those who had had multiple partners in the previous six months and those who were current users of male condoms were less likely to choose female-controlled methods (odds ratios, 0.7 and 0.5, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Although the majority of participants did not choose female-controlled, over-the-counter barrier methods without also choosing male condoms, such female-controlled methods appear to offer an acceptable alternative for prevention of sexually transmitted infections. They may be a particularly attractive option for individuals using hormonal contraceptives and for teenage women.