Intention, attitude, subjective norm, and the perception of control in adolescents and Spanish adolescents with regard to the use of the “Double Dutch” method

Research
By Óscar Hernández, Céline Goulet, Annie Lampron
English

With adolescence, boys and girls reach sexual maturity and initiate sexual encounters. They very frequently adopt risky behaviors, as they tend not to use any contraceptive methods. Today’s trend regarding contraceptive methods is to recommend the combined utilization of condom and pill. In comparison to other methods, this last one, known as the Double Dutch (DD) method, has the advantage of preventing pregnancy and STDs, while also increasing the efficiency of contraception. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, the purpose of the study is to measure the intention, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control involved in the use of the DD method among 15 and 16-year-old Spanish students, and to determine the relationships among these variables. The results indicate that adolescents show a favorable intention, attitude, and subjective norm toward the utilization of the DD method. They seem to be more worried about pregnancy prevention than STD prevention. Parents seem to be the most important reference for adolescents, followed by their friends; the results show that, at this age, adolescents tend to take these reference people’s opinion into consideration.

Key-words

  • contraceptive methods
  • adolescence
  • sexuals encounter
  • theory of planned behaviour
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