Past research has identified a number of factors
that encourage or discourage consistency in
contraception among women not wanting to get
pregnant.To further understand the contexts in
which women become more or less consistent
in contraception, we drew on qualitative
interview data from 51 unmarried women that
included complete sexual histories with detailed
narratives on contraceptive use with each of
their sexual partners. Our data allowed us to
examine patterns of more or less consistent
use of contraception for individual women over
time and across partners. We examined how
factors identified by previous research combine
to provide the context for processes leading to
more or less consistent use of contraception.