Gender Differences in Evaluations of Contraceptive Methods

William R. Grady, Battelle- Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation
Daniel H. Klepinger, Battelle- Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation
John O.G. Billy, Battelle- Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation

This study employs data from the National Couples Study (NCS) to examine gender differences in the rating of contraceptive methods. The NCS is a computer-assisted self interviewing (CASI) survey of over 1,000 couples, where members of each couple were interviewed separately but contemporaneously. In this paper, we examine whether women and men rate methods of contraception differently, and whether they use different criteria in rating methods of contraception. Using the couple as the unit of analysis, we also examine partner/gender differences in method ratings, and how partner/gender differences in their evaluations of contraceptive methods along a set of dimensions account for disagreements in their overall ratings of methods of contraception. The second set of analyses identifies what couples need to negotiate in order to resolve their differences in selecting a method of contraception.