Influence of family planning counseling in an adolescent clinic on sexual activity and contraceptive use

Abstract

We evaluated whether family planning counseling (FPC) in an adolescent clinic promoted the onset of sexual activity among the non-sexually active teens and/or increased contraceptive use among the sexually active teens. The FPC focused on the teens' establishing sexual values, the right to say “no,” abstinence and alternate forms of intimacy, consequences of intercourse, and the various contraceptive methods. Data for one year were collected on the adolescents' first and subsequent visits to a medically oriented, municipal outpatient adolescent clinic. There were 383 teenagers who qualified for the study. Of these, 35% (134) reported premarital sexual activity. During the study period, 3% (8) of the 249 non-sexually active teens reported becoming sexually active. Among the 134 sexually active teens at clinic entry, 27% reported using a contraceptive method at their most recent sexual encounter. Among the 142 sexually active adolescents at the conclusion of the study, 76% reported contraceptive use at their most recent sexual encounter ( p < 0.001). We conclude that the provision of FPC to nonsexually active and sexually active teens does not appear to promote the onset of sexual activity significantly among the non-sexually active group, although it significantly increases contraceptive use among the sexually active group.