Abstract

The proposed research will examine the contribution of conscious and preconscious motivation for pregnancy to contraceptive behavior and the occurrence of pregnancy and its resolution among adolescents.
The aims are to: develop measures of strength of motivation, test their contributions to contraceptive behavior and pregnancy occurrence and resolution, and identify effects of sociodemographic variables on motivation. Following pilot research to develop the measures, 500 sexually active adolescent females, age 15-19 , will be interviewed at one of two adolescent health clinics. They will be contacted by telephone 3, 4, 8, and 12 months later to determine contraceptive behavior, pregnancy occurrence, and pregnancy resolution. Measures of conscious motivation are based on the theory of reasoned action. Measures of preconscious motivation are derived from psychoanalytic theory and recent theories of behavior control. Four aspects of preconscious motivation for pregnancy will be used: 1) images of """"""""possible selves"""""""" related to pregnancy, 2) """"""""current concerns"""""""" related to pregnancy, 3) analysis of pregnancy themes in response to a Thematic Apperception Test stimulus, and 4) """"""""states of mind"""""""" attributed to pregnancy. The effects of ethnicity, religion, age, SES, and intentions regarding contraceptive use on contraceptive behavior and pregnancy will also be examined.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD023880-03
Application #
3324239
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (SRC (03))
Project Start
1988-03-01
Project End
1991-11-30
Budget Start
1990-03-01
Budget End
1991-02-28
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1990
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
073133571
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94143

  Publications

Pope, L M; Adler, N E; Tschann, J M (2001) Postabortion psychological adjustment: are minors at increased risk? J Adolesc Health 29:2-11
Smith, L B; Adler, N E; Tschann, J M (1999) Underreporting sensitive behaviors: the case of young women's willingness to report abortion. Health Psychol 18:37-43
Speier, P L; Melese-D'Hospital, I A; Tschann, J M et al. (1997) Predicting contraceptive vigilance in adolescent females: a projective method for assessing ego development. J Adolesc Health 20:14-9
Adler, N; Matthews, K (1994) Health psychology: why do some people get sick and some stay well? Annu Rev Psychol 45:229-59