Reproductive Coercion among Male and Female College Students

Reproductive coercion (RC) has been defined as a male partner pressuring their significant other to become pregnant, forced sex, or destroying contraception. In a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate college students at three universities in Spring 2011 (n=6058), students who reported having had an intimate relationship were asked five questions assessing RC: 1) My partner hid, damaged or threw away my birth control method to prevent me from using it (0.4%); 2) My partner refused to use a condom or other protection when I wanted him or her to (7.0%); 3) My partner said to me, “You want us to use birth control, condoms, or other protection so you can sleep around with other people" or something similar (1.9%); 4) My partner said to me, "If we have a baby, you will never have to worry about me leaving you. I will always be around” or something similar (16.1%); 5) My partner forced me to have sex without using birth control, condoms or other protection (3.0%). Overall, 21.5% of students reported experiencing at least one of these behaviors in the current academic year. The associations between RC and gender, age, race/ethnicity, relationship status, and pregnancy will be presented. Individuals in relationships with partners who use coercive tactics may have trouble negotiating contraceptive use, putting them at risk for both sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. Male and female college students who reported experiencing RC were more likely to report having been involved in a pregnancy, which could lead to educational disruption.