OBJECTIVE:This report presents national estimates of sexual activity, contraceptive use, and births among males and females aged 15-19 in the United States in 2006-2010 from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). For selected indicators, data are also presented from the 1988, 1995, and 2002 NSFG, and from the 1988 and 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males, conducted by the Urban Institute.METHODS:Descriptive tables of numbers and percentages are presented and discussed. Data were collected through in-person interviews of the household population of males and females aged 15-44 in the United States, between July 2006 and June 2010. Interviews were conducted with 22,682 men and women, including 4,662 teenagers (2,284 females and 2,378 males). For both the teen subsample and the total sample, the response rate was 77%.RESULTS:In 2006-2010, about 43% of never-married female teenagers (4.4 million), and about 42% of never-married male teenagers (4.5 million) had had sexual intercourse at least once. These levels of sexual experience have not changed significantly from 2002. Seventy-eight percent of females and 85% of males used a method of contraception at first sex according to 2006-2010 data, with the condom remaining the most popular method. Teenagers' contraceptive use has changed little since 2002, with a few exceptions: there was an increase among males in the use of condoms alone and in the use of a condom combined with a partner's hormonal contraceptive; and there was a significant increase in the percentage of female teenagers who used hormonal methods other than a birth-control pill, such as injectables and the contraceptive patch, at first sex. Six percent of female teenagers used a nonpill hormonal method at first sex.
OBJECTIVE:This report presents national estimates of sexual activity, contraceptive use, and births among males and females 15-19 years of age in the United States in 2006-2008 from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Selected data are also presented from the 1988, 1995, and 2002 NSFGs, and from the 1988 and 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM), conducted by the Urban Institute.METHODS:Descriptive tables of numbers and percents are presented and discussed. Data were collected through in-person interviews of the household population in the United States, conducted between July 2006 and December 2008. Interviews were conducted with 7,356 females-1,381 of whom were teenagers--and 6,140 males--1,386 of whom were teenagers-for a total of 2,767 teenagers. The overall response rate for the 2006-2008 NSFG was 75%. The response rate for female teenagers was 77% and for male teenagers 75%.RESULTS:In 2006-2008, about 42% of never-married female teenagers (4.3 million), and about 43% of never-married male teenagers (4.5 million) had had sexual intercourse at least once. These levels of sexual experience have not changed significantly from 2002, the last time the NSFG collected these data. Among never-married teenagers, 79% of females and 87% of males used a method of contraception at first sex. With a few exceptions, teenagers' use of contraceptives has changed little since 2002, and the condom remained the most commonly used method. One exception was an increase in the use of condoms and the use of a condom combined with a hormonal contraceptive (dual method use) among males. Another exception was a significant increase in the percent of female teenagers who had ever used periodic abstinence, or the "calendar rhythm" method. This method had been used by 17% of female teenagers in 2006-2008.
OBJECTIVE:This report presents national estimates of contraceptive use and method choice based on the 1982, 1995, 2002, and 2006-2008 National Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG). METHODS:Data for 2006-2008 were collected through in-person interviews with 13,495 men and women 15-44 years of age in the household population of the United States. This report is based on the sample of 7,356 women interviewed in 2006-2008. The response rate for women in the 2006-2008 survey was about 76%. RESULTS:More than 99% of women 15-44 years of age who have ever had sexual intercourse with a male (referred to as "sexually experienced women") have used at least one contraceptive method. The percentage of women who have ever used emergency contraception, the contraceptive patch, and the contraceptive ring increased between 2002 and 2006-2008. Looking at contraceptive use in the month of interview, or current use, the leading method of contraception in the United States during 2006-2008 was the oral contraceptive pill, used by 10.7 million women; the second leading method was female sterilization, used by 10.3 million women. While contraceptive use is virtually universal in the United States, women with different characteristics make different choices of methods--for example, college educated women are much more likely to use the pill and less likely to use female sterilization than less educated women. Age, parity, marital status, and income are also closely related to the choice of method. These method choices are related to the risk of unintended pregnancy in these groups.
OBJECTIVE:This report provides an overview of marital and cohabiting relationships in the United States among men and women aged 15-44 in 2002, by a variety of characteristics. National estimates are provided that highlight formal and informal marital status, previous experience with marriage and cohabitation, the sequencing of marriage and cohabitation, and the stability of cohabitations and marriages.METHODS:The analyses presented in this report are based on a nationally representative sample of 12,571 men and women aged 15-44 living in households in the United States in 2002, based on the National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 6.RESULTS:Over 40% of men and women aged 15-44 were currently married at the date of interview, compared with about 9% who were currently cohabiting. Men and women were, however, likely to cohabit prior to becoming married. Marriages were longer lasting than cohabiting unions; about 78% of marriages lasted 5 years or more, compared with less than 30% of cohabitations. Cohabitations were shorter-lived than marriages in part because about half of cohabitations transitioned to marriage within 3 years. Variations--often large variations-in marital and cohabiting relationships and durations were found by race and Hispanic origin, education, family background, and other factors.
UNLABELLED This report presents national estimates of the prevalence of adoption for men and women 18-44 years of age, the demand for children to adopt by women, and women's preferences for characteristics of the adopted child. METHODS Analysis is based on data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. This survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of women and men 15-44 years of age in their households. Results are weighted to produce national estimates of the characteristics of men and women who have adopted children, lifetime and current demand for adoption by women, and the characteristics of children preferred by women when they are considering adoption. RESULTS Adoption remains rare in the United States. Among all women aged 18-44 in 2002, only 1.1% had adopted a child and 1.6% were currently seeking to adopt. Women were more likely to be currently seeking to adopt, to have ever sought to adopt, and to have actually adopted a child if they had used infertility services or had impaired fecundity. Older women and women who were in their second or later marriage were also more likely to have adopted a child. Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women were more likely to be currently seeking to adopt compared with non-Hispanic white women. More men than women have adopted children in their lifetimes. Among adopters, 17% of women and 6% of men were never married. CONCLUSIONS Adopting a child has been and remains a relatively rare event in the United States. Adoption is a mechanism by which adults legalize their parental relationship to nonbiological children as well as a means to bring children into families. Studies examining adoption should include men as well as women and persons of all marital statuses.
OBJECTIVE:This report presents national estimates of fertility, family formation, contraceptive use, and father involvement indicators among males 15-44 years of age in the United States in 2002 from Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Data are also shown for women for purposes of comparison.METHODS:Descriptive tables of numbers and percentages are presented. Data were collected through in-person interviews of the household population 15-44 years of age in the United States between March 2002 and March 2003. The sample included 7,643 females and 4,928 males. This report focuses primarily on data from the male sample, but compares findings with the female data whenever appropriate. The overall response rate for Cycle 6 of the NSFG was 79 percent, and the response rate for men was 78 percent.RESULTS:This report covers a wide range of topics including first sexual intercourse and its timing in relation to marriage; contraceptive use; wantedness of births in the past 5 years; marital and cohabiting status at first birth; living arrangement of fathers with their children; father's activities with children they live with and those they do not live with; HIV-risk related behaviors; and infertility services.CONCLUSION:The reproductive experiences of men and women 15-44 years of age in the United States vary significantly, and often sharply, by demographic characteristics such as education, income, and Hispanic origin and race.
OBJECTIVEThis report presents national estimates of fertility, family planning, and reproductive health indicators among females 15-44 years of age in the United States in 2002 from Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). For selected indicators, data are also compared with earlier cycles of the NSFG.METHODSDescriptive tables of numbers and percentages are presented and interpreted. Data were collected through in-person interviews of the household population 15-44 years of age in the United States between March 2002 and March 2003. The sample included 7,643 females and 4,928 males, and this report focuses on data from the female sample. The overall response rate for the Cycle 6 NSFG was 79 percent, and the response rate for women was 80 percent.RESULTSGiven the range of topics covered in the report, only selected findings are listed here. About 14 percent of recent births to women 15-44 years of age in 2002 were unwanted at time of conception, an increase from the 9 percent seen for recent births in 1995. Among recent births, 64 percent occurred within marriage, 14 percent within cohabiting unions, and 21 percent to women who were neither married nor cohabiting. The overall rate of breastfeeding initiation among recent births increased from 55 to 67 percent between 1995 and 2002. About 50 percent of women 15-44 had ever cohabited compared with 41 percent of women in the 1995 survey; the percentage of women currently cohabiting also increased, from 7 to 9 percent between 1995 and 2002.
OBJECTIVE:This report presents national estimates of sexual activity, contraceptive use, and births among males and females 15-19 years of age in the United States in 2002 from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Data are also presented from the 1988 and 1995 NSFGs, and from the 1988 and 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM).METHODS:Descriptive tables of numbers and percents are presented and interpreted. Data were collected through in-person interviews of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in the United States. Interviews were conducted with 7,643 females, 1,150 of whom were teenagers, and 4,928 males, 1,121 of whom were teenagers.RESULTS:In 2002, about 47 percent of female teenagers (4.6 million), and about 46 percent of male teenagers (4.7 million) had had sexual intercourse at least once. For never-married males, there was a significant decline from 55 percent in 1995 to 46 percent in 2002. Among never-married females, for those aged 15-17 there was a significant decline in the percent sexually experienced, and for those aged 18-19 there was no significant change. Teenagers showed increases in the use of contraceptives. About 3 out of 4 teens used a method of contraception at their first intercourse. About 91 percent of males and 83 percent of females used a method at their last (most recent) sex. Hispanic teens are most likely to have a birth before age 20 and non-Hispanic whites are least likely, with non-Hispanic black teens in the middle.CONCLUSION:This report documents findings that may be helpful in understanding trends in teen birth and pregnancy, and STD rates.
OBJECTIVES:This report presents some illustrative data and analyses from the Contextual Data File for the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Data are shown by the woman's race and Hispanic origin, and selected characteristics of the community in which she lived.METHODS:Cycle 5 of the NSFG was based on in-person interviews with a national sample of 10,847 women 15-44 years of age in the United States in 1995. The interview included questions on the woman's births, marriages, contraceptive use, and characteristics such as her race and education. Measures of the characteristics of the woman's neighborhood were added to the interview data.RESULTS:This report shows that several simple measures of the social and economic status (SES) and resources of the woman's community of residence are closely associated with outcomes such as delayed childbearing, unwanted births, current marital status, the use of male or female contraceptive sterilization, breast-feeding, vaginal douching, and cigarette smoking.CONCLUSIONS:It is well-documented that the outcomes studied in this report are closely associated with individual characteristics such as age, race, education, and household income. But this report shows that these outcomes are also related to characteristics of the communities in which the individuals live. Researchers are encouraged to use the NSFG Contextual Data File to study these relationships further.
OBJECTIVES:This report presents national estimates of the probabilities of marital and cohabitation outcomes for women 15-44 years of age in 1995, by a wide variety of individual- and community-level characteristics. The life-table analysis in this report takes a life cycle approach to estimate the probabilities that: a woman will marry for the first time, an intact first cohabitation will make the transition to marriage, a first cohabitation will end in separation, a first marriage will end in separation or divorce, a disrupted first marriage will be followed by a new cohabitation, a separation from first marriage will result in divorce, a divorce from first marriage will be followed by remarriage, and a second marriage will end in separation or divorce.METHODS:The life-table estimates presented here are based on a nationally representative sample of women 15-44 years of age in the United States in 1995 from the National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 5.RESULTS:The analyses show that various individual and community-level characteristics are related to the marital and cohabitational outcomes examined in this report. The results consistently demonstrate that the cohabitations and marriages of non-Hispanic black women are less stable than those of non-Hispanic white women. An analysis of trends over time suggests that differences by race/ethnicity are becoming more pronounced in recent years. Racial differences observed are associated with individual characteristics and with the characteristics of the communities in which the women live.
OBJECTIVES:This report presents national estimates of sexual experience, contraceptive use, and selected aspects of sexual behavior among never-married males and females aged 15-19 years in the United States. Data are presented for the years 1988 and 1995 according to age, race and Hispanic origin, progress in school, and other relevant characteristics. Tables present trends over time as well as comparisons between subgroups.METHODS:Descriptive tables of numbers and percents are presented and interpreted. Data for females are from the National Survey of Family Growth, and data for males are from the National Survey of Adolescent Males.RESULTS:About half of all never-married teenagers, about 17.5 million, had had sexual intercourse at least once in 1995. For male teenagers, this represents a decline since 1988, and for females, the proportion was stable across the two time points. The proportion of teen females who had sex before age 15 years increased. In 1995, 29 percent of females and 19 percent of males had unprotected recent sexual intercourse. About one-quarter of teens used no contraceptives during their first sexual intercourse. The condom remained the most popular method of contraception. Although teenagers' use of oral contraceptives dropped between 1988 and 1995, use of injectable and implant contraceptives began. Teenagers with more highly educated mothers, mothers who delayed their first birth beyond age 19 years, those from two-parent families, and those whose schooling was on schedule, were less likely to engage in sexual risk behaviors. These teenagers, along with those who were Protestant, also experienced the largest improvements across time in sexual risk behaviors.
OBJECTIVES:This report presents national data on the prevalence of surgical sterilization from 1965 to 1995 among women 15-44 years of age. Data are shown by type of sterilizing operation and demographic characteristics of the women. For the 1995 survey data, reasons for the three most common sterilizing operations (tubal ligation, vasectomy, and hysterectomy) are shown, as well as the desire for reversal among those with potentially reversible operations.METHODS:Data are based on nationally representative samples of women 15-44 years of age: the 1965 National Fertility Study (NFS), and the 1973, 1982, 1988, and 1995 cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).RESULTS:After rising from 16 to 42 percent between 1965 and 1988, the prevalence of surgical sterilization among married women 15-44 years old remained stable at 41 percent in 1995. Age, parity, religious affiliation, and education continued to be strongly associated with overall surgical sterilization levels. Tubal ligation and vasectomy were equally prevalent in the 1965 and 1973 surveys, but since 1962, tubal ligation has been more prevalent than vasectomy.CONCLUSIONS:Several factors contributed to the rise in reliance upon surgical sterilization among women 15-44 years old over the last 3 decades: (a) aging of the post-World War II Baby Boom women (and their partners) through the primary reproductive years; (b) relatively high contraceptive failure rates, particularly among socioeconomically less advantaged women; and (c) higher expectations for contraceptive effectiveness, safety, and convenience. Overall sterilization prevalence may be leveling off among women 15-44 years old, in part due to greater delay of first and subsequent births, thus making sterilization less of a concern while women are in this age range.
OBJECTIVES:This report shows data on a wide range of topics from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), including: pregnancy and birth, marriage, divorce, cohabitation, sexual intercourse, contraception, infertility, use of family planning and other medical services, and health conditions and behavior.METHODS:The data in this report are based on in-person interviews with a national sample of 10,847 women 15-44 years of age. The interviews lasted an average of 103 minutes. The response rate was 79 percent. The sample data are adjusted for nonresponse and are national estimates.RESULTS:Following large increases in the 1970's and 1980's, the proportion of teenagers who have ever had sexual intercourse decreased slightly between 1990 and 1995; condom use, both at first intercourse and currently, has increased markedly since the 1970's. These changes may have contributed to the decreases in the teen birth rate observed in the 1990's. For all women 15-44 years of age, the number whose partner was currently using the condom (at the date of interview) increased from 3.6 million in 1982 to 5.1 million in 1988 and 7.9 million in 1995. About 8 percent of women reported that their first intercourse was not voluntary. This result is consistent with an earlier national survey. About 20 percent reported that they had been forced by a man to have intercourse at some time in their lives. About 10 percent of births in 1990-95 were unwanted by the mother compared with 12 percent in 1984-88. The decrease in unwanted births was particularly large for black women. It appears that the prevalence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and vaginal douching have both decreased since 1988.
Statistics collected in 1988 are presented on the timing of the first prenatal visit, the source of prenatal care, smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy, low birthweight, and how delivery was paid for. The data are shown by race and characteristics of the mother and the pregnancy. Trends between 1982 and 1988 are also presented.
A synthesis of statistics and statistical tables for 1973-88 are provided from the 1982 and 1988 National Survey of Family Growth for women aged 15-44 years all women and ever married women. Data is provided by age at the survey date and by race parity and birth cohort. Average expected births declined by as much as 10% between 1982 and 1988 among six of the eight 3-year birth cohorts of women. The decline for Black ever married women aged 40-44 years was from 4.26 to 2.53 children per woman. Cohort fertility for women born in 1947-49 and aged 33-35 years was 2.35 children in 1988 compared to average expected total births of 2.33. When the timing of first marriage is controlled the decline in cohort expectations over time disappears and birth expectations in 15 years are accurate. Birth expectations remained higher than the total fertility rate (TFR) by about 17-18% among women aged 25-29 years. Women aged 25-29 years in 1982 expected 2.22 total births and total fertility was 1.83; women aged 25-29 years in 1988 expected 2.33 births and total fertility was 1.93. Delayed childbearing among older women led to a total fertility of over 2 children in 1989 and 1990. The patterns for Black women were not as clear. Black teen cohorts for 1962-64 had an increase in birth expectations between 1982 and 1988 from 2.11 to 2.45 children or as much as 16% greater. However among Black women aged over 20 years in 1982 birth expectations declined by as much as 15%. Ever married Black women did not adequately provide for parallel estimation of expected and actual fertility 15 years later. The two child family norm was the expected fertility among all women aged 15-44 years. 44% of women in 1982 and 43% of women in 1982 expected to have two children in their lifetime. Between 1982 and 1988 there was a change in the expectation of childlessness from 7% to 9%. The proportion expecting only one child increased from 12% to 14%. These increases were accounted for by unmarried women and the differences were statistically significant.
This report based on data collected in the 1982 National Survey of Family Growth presents statistics on contraceptive use at 1st sexual intercourse method ever used all methods ever used and current contraceptive status and method for the 54 million women in the US ages 15-44 years at the time of the survey. This analysis is considered the most comprehensive study of contraceptive use by the US population. Among the 45% of women who used contraception at 1st intercourse the most common methods were condoms oral contraceptives (OCs) and withdrawal. 95% of US women who have had intercourse have used at least 1 contraceptive method at some point especially OCs (76%) condoms (52%) and foam and withdrawal (25% each). About equal proportions of white and black women have used OCs; however white women are more likely to have used the diaphragm condom foam periodic abstinence withdrawal and male sterilization while black women are more likely to have used douching and female sterilization. Women with 13 or more years of education are more likely to have used the diaphragm condom foam and periodic abstinence than those with less than a high school education. 29.5 million (55%) of US women of reproductive age at the time of the survey were currently using contraception although family planning practice varied by marital status from 35% among never-married women to 68% among currently married women. Overall sterilization was the leading method in 1982 (18%--12% female sterilization and 6% male sterilization) followed by the pill (16%). The pill is the method of choice (53%) among never married women however. The survey data further indicate dramatic changes in contraceptive use patterns among married couples since 1965. Although OC use increased markedly until 1973 when the pill was used by 36% of married contraceptors this percent had dropped to 20% by 1982. On the other hand use of female sterilization increased from 7% of married couples in 1965 to 26% in 1982 and male sterilization increased from 5% to 15% in this period. OCs remain the leading method (45%) among currently married women who wish to delay their next birth while sterilization is the method of choice (61%) among couples who want no more children.
The 1982 statistics on the use of family planning and infertility services presented in this report are preliminary results from Cycle III of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Data were collected through personal interviews with a multistage area probability sample of 7969 women aged 15-44. A detailed series of questions was asked to obtain relatively complete estimates of the extent and type of family planning services received. Statistics on family planning services are limited to women who were able to conceive 3 years before the interview date. Overall 79% of currently mrried nonsterile women reported using some type of family planning service during the previous 3 years. There were no statistically significant differences between white (79%) black (75%) or Hispanic (77%) wives or between the 2 income groups. The 1982 survey questions were more comprehensive than those of earlier cycles of the survey. The annual rate of visits for family planning services in 1982 was 1077 visits /1000 women. Teenagers had the highest annual visit rate (1581/1000) of any age group for all sources of family planning services combined. Visit rates declined sharply with age from 1447 at ages 15-24 to 479 at ages 35-44. Similar declines with age also were found in the visit rates for white and black women separately. Nevertheless the annual visit rate for black women (1334/1000) was significantly higher than that for white women (1033). The highest overall visit rate was for black women 15-19 years of age (1867/1000). Nearly 2/3 of all family planning visits were to private medical sources. Teenagers of all races had higher family planning service visit rates to clinics than to private medical sources as did black women age 15-24. White women age 20 and older had higher visit rates to private medical services than to clinics. Never married women had higher visit rates to clinics than currently or formerly married women. Data were also collected in 1982 on use of medical services for infertility by women who had difficulty in conceiving or carrying a pregnancy to term. About 1 million ever married women had 1 or more infertility visits in the 12 months before the interview. During the 3 years before interview about 1.9 million women had infertility visits. For all ever married women as well as for white and black women separately infertility services were more likely to be secured from private medical sources than from clinics. The survey design reliability of the estimates and the terms used are explained in the technical notes.
