A causal model of contraceptive intention and its gender comparison among Taiwanese sexually inexperienced adolescents

Aims and objectives. To test latent constructs of social influences, contraceptive attitude and self-efficacy for contraception as a causal model of contraceptive intention among adolescents and to search for possible gender differences in the causal model of contraceptive intention. Background. A greater understanding of the causal model of contraceptive intention among sexually inexperienced adolescents will help nurses design contraceptive programmes to improve adolescent contraceptive use when they have sex. Design. This was a cross-sectional study; 770 boys and 685 girls that self-reported not being sexually experienced were selected for this study. Methods. An anonymous questionnaire was used to collect data. By structural equation modelling using the EQS 6.1 software, a hypothesized structural model of contraceptive intention was tested. Findings. For both genders, social influences affected contraceptive intention indirectly through the contraceptive attitude and self-efficacy for contraception. Contraceptive attitude and self-efficacy for contraception affected contraceptive intention directly. Contraceptive attitude also affected contraceptive intention indirectly through the mediation of self-efficacy for contraception. There were gender differences in the variances of contraceptive intention explained by contraceptive attitude, self-efficacy for contraception and social influences. Nevertheless, the data explain only a low proportion of the variability in contraceptive intention. More causal constructs influencing contraceptive intention should be explored in future. Conclusions. Personal factors and social influences operate interdependently to influence contraceptive intention among sexually inexperienced adolescents. Gender is a moderator that can modify the influential level of social influences, contraceptive attitude and self-efficacy for contraception on contraceptive intention. Relevance to clinical practice. Nurses should operate personal factors and social influences interdependently when they are designing intervention programmes for sexually inexperienced adolescents. To make intervention more effective, nurses also need to provide gender-specific intervention programmes for sexually inexperienced adolescents.