Predictors of Non-Use of Contraception, and Reasons for Non-Use: Key Factors Affecting Unintended Pregnancy in the United States

William D. Mosher, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC
Jo Jones, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC
Joyce C. Abma, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC

About half of all 6 million pregnancies, and over one-third of the 4 million births in the United States, are unintended, and the costs of these births are high. This paper examines data from two large nationally representative samples of US women on factors associated with non-use of contraception among those at risk of an unintended pregnancy. Race, age, and intending to have additional children are known predictors of non-use, but this study examines a wide variety of additional social and behavioral factors not used in previous studies. Reasons for non-use of contraception are also studied, using predictors not available before in national samples. The results are based on the nearly 20,000 women interviewed in the 2002 and 2006-10 National Surveys of Family Growth, and they may be useful for those trying to prevent unintended pregnancy in the United States.