Prior research has also examined associations between
contraceptive behaviors and a range of attitudinal measures
(including motivations and ambivalence regarding avoiding
pregnancy, as well as beliefs and perceptions about methods
and method use).13,14 Studies have found that both teenagers
and adult women who reported ambivalent attitudes
toward pregnancy or low motivation to avoid pregnancy
had an elevated likelihood of engaging in risky contraceptive
practices (such as no or inconsistent method use).15–17
The current analysis was designed to build on these
earlier studies using national data, a more comprehensive
knowledge measure than has been employed in prior
work and a theoretically derived model to test the relative
strength of different domains.