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. 2024 Jul;53(7):2727-2736.
doi: 10.1007/s10508-024-02879-5. Epub 2024 Jun 3.

Depression, Contraception, and Ambivalence Concerning Fertility

Sina Kremer  1 , Alexander L Gerlach  1 , Doris Erbe  2
Affiliations

Depression, Contraception, and Ambivalence Concerning Fertility

Sina Kremer et al. Arch Sex Behav. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

Individuals suffering from depression exhibit a higher rate of unintended pregnancies, which are associated with negative outcomes for both parents and children. Often, unintended pregnancies result from contraceptive mistakes. Here, we examine the relationship between depression and the consistency of contraceptive behavior, testing ambivalence as a possible mediator. The analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the second and third waves of the German Relationship and Family Panel Pairfam. A German-speaking sample without children (N = 190; 117 female, 73 male), who reported not attempting to conceive or become pregnant during the last 12 months, was analyzed in comparison with a propensity score matched sample. Ambivalence was operationalized as the difference between the ideal and realistic number of children in wave 2. Data from wave 3 were used to assess contraceptive behavior. Depressed mood in wave 2 and consistency of contraceptive behavior in wave 3 were negatively correlated. After including ambivalence in wave 2 as a mediator in the model, the direct path between depressed mood and consistency of contraceptive behavior remained significant, with no significant mediation found. For men only, we observed a significant negative association of ambivalence with the consistency of contraceptive behavior in the last 3 months. No significant relationship was found between depressed mood and ambivalence. We conclude that future research aiming to better understand the consistency of contraceptive behavior should incorporate measures of ambivalence.

Keywords: Ambivalence; Contraceptive behavior; Depression; Desire for children.

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Conflict of interest statement

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Results of mediation analysis for subjects without children with propensity score matching. c’ = relationship of depression and consistent contraceptive behavior after adding the mediator. *p < .05
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Results of mediation analysis, male subsample. c’ = relationship of depression and consistent contraceptive behavior after adding the mediator. *p < .05
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Results of mediation analysis, female subsample. c’ = relationship of depression and consistent contraceptive behavior after adding the mediator. *p < .05; †p < .10
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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