Why Do Young, Unmarried Women Who Do Not Want to Get Pregnant Contracept Inconsistently? Mixed-method Evidence for the Role of Efficacy

Many sexually active single women do not want to get pregnant but use contraception inconsistently. To explore why, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with 99 unmarried women in their 20s, asking about contraception with each of their sexual partners. The authors present quantitative and qualitative evidence that contraceptive inconsistency sometimes results from having too little efficacy, a concept that includes the subconcepts of planfulness, self-regulation, assertiveness, and believing that one can affect one’s goals. The authors discuss how sociologists should think about personal characteristics such as low efficacy that may stem from disadvantaged origins and affect desired outcomes.