Maternal Education, Parenting, and Contraceptive Choices of Young Women (2023)

Undergraduate: Anne Flanagan

Faculty Advisor: Shannon Cavanagh
Department: Human Development & Family Science, Sociology, UT-Austin Population Research Center

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Adolescence is a key time where conversations about sex between parents and children can shape one’s trajectory in reproductive health. Contraceptive use has been linked to socioeconomic status, maternal education, and broader family functioning. I examine the relationship between maternal education and contraceptive choice by women in young adulthood using publicly available data from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n=2,437). Using ordinal logistic analysis, I explore the degree to which parent-child closeness and parental attitudes about sex moderate the relationship between maternal education and contraceptive use in young adulthood. Higher maternal educational attainment is associated with an increased likelihood of women using "more effective" contraception (e.g., contraceptive pill, injectable, etc.) in young adulthood. General parent-child closeness did not moderate the association between maternal education and contraceptive use but parental attitudes about sex did. More specifically, mothers with college degrees and high scores in sex positivity were especially likely to have daughters who use effective contraceptives as young adults. Higher scores on the sex positivity scale strengthens the relationship between maternal education and contraceptive choice, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive sex education in parenting.

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