Reproductive Coercion in High School-Aged Girls: Associations with Reproductive Health Risk and Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Study objective: To determine the prevalence of reproductive coercion, a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) including contraceptive sabotage and pregnancy pressure, among urban high school-aged girls and to examine its associations with reproductive health risks.

Design and setting: A self-administered survey completed by high school-aged girls living in high-poverty neighborhoods while awaiting medical care in a pediatric emergency room, inpatient service, school-based, and hospital-based clinic.

Participants: One hundred forty-nine sexually active girls aged 14-17 years.

Interventions and main outcome measures: To determine the prevalence of reproductive coercion and to examine associations with unprotected sex, sexually transmitted infections, physical IPV, and risk factors for abusive relationships.

Results: Twenty-nine of 149 (19%) of girls reported reproductive coercion, most frequently that a romantic or sexual partner had ever: "told them not to use any birth control" (n = 23; 79%); "took off a condom during sex so they would get pregnant" (n = 12; 43%); and "said he would leave them if they didn't get pregnant" (n = 6; 21%). Girls reporting reproductive coercion were nearly 3 times more likely than those not coerced to have had chlamydia (odds ratio [OR], 2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-7.19) and nearly 5 times more likely to report IPV (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 2.0-11.8). In addition, girls reporting coercion were less likely to have high recognition of abusive behaviors (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.01-0.8) and less likely to have high comfort communicating with their sexual partners (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.1-0.7) than girls not reporting coercion.

Conclusion: Reproductive coercion is experienced by 1 in 5 high school-aged girls in a high-poverty community and is associated with chlamydia infection and IPV. Awareness of the high prevalence and health risks of coercion might allow for intervention.

Keywords: Adolescent; Chlamydia trachomatis; Intimate partner violence; Reproductive coercion; Reproductive health; Unprotected sex.