The objective of research in contraceptive evaluation is to improve the ability of individuals to choose contraceptive methods best suited to their needs and circumstances and to provide information that will lead to the development of safer and more effective methods. There are usually three considerations in judging the importance of a method of…

This article describes the services of the Birth Control Education Clinic at Ohio University and gives the results of a survey of data provided by those using the services of the clinic. (PD)

Article accentuated the need for improved sex education as a prerequisite for reducing teenage pregnancies. (Author/RK)

This article defines sex education and discusses how it should be presented in schools. (PD)

An exhaustive analytic review of large bodies of research indicates that rates of premarital intercourse among teenagers have risen sharply since 1966. This is particularly true for white females, for whom the rate is probably about three times that of the 1920's thru the mid-1960's; for white males the rate seems to have risen about 50%. By age…

A sex-role stereotype questionnaire was administered to 67 females who were either (a) consistent users of contraceptives, (b) inconsistent users, (c) nonusers, or (d) virgins. No differences were found between the four groups for the feminine items; however, significant differences were obtained for the masculine items. (Author)

This paper discusses couple decision making with reference to family planning. A decision process is suggested that involves three central factors: (1) the motivations of each partner; (2) the level of incentive to resolve their differences; and (3) the ability of the spouses to perceive, conceptualize, and communicate about their differences.…

This report uses World Fertility Survey data obtained between 1974 and 1978 to investigate the initiation and duration of breast-feeding in 19 developing countries, ten of which are in Asia, eight in Latin America and the Caribbean, and one in sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya). Respondents were asked whether they had fed either their most recently born…

A locally-constructed family planning questionnaire and a series of personality instruments were administered to 100 sexually active, unmarried, undergraduate students (60 females, 40 males). Responses to a question of "whose responsibility is it for using birth control measures" showed that 80% of the women and 83% of the men see that…

Cohort changes in attitudes about the availability of legal abortions are traced over a 12-year period using data from seven national surveys. Contrary to the aging-conservatism hypothesis, trends in the direction of increasingly favorable attitudes between 1965 and 1973 and general stability thereafter characterize all cohorts. On this issue,…

In an attempt to clarify the structure of positive and negative parenthood motivations, a series of factor analyses were performed on importance ratings of empirically generated reasons for and against having a child. Findings were: (1) evidence for bipolar factors is weak; (2) both positive and negative motivations have a moderately strong single…

The "Acquisitions List" of demographic books and articles is issued every two months by the Katharine Dexter McCormick Library. Divided into two parts, the first contains a list of books most recently acquired by the Library, each one annotated and also marked with the Library call number. The second part consists of a list of annotated articles,…

In an effort to assess what could and should be done in the field of population research and the application of research findings, the Population Crisis Committee has compiled this series of essays. Each is written by a recognized authority working in his own specialty in the field of population. The essays are short, nontechnical statements of…