Lia Cocomazzi

Date

5-4-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to investigate the factors that influence men’s and women’s perceptions of their role in contraceptive use and their willingness to try new forms of male contraceptives. Qualitative interviews asking participants about their experience with contraceptive use and decision making were conducted with 16 individuals between the ages of 18 and 27 (M = 20.12, SD= 2.41). Thematic analysis was then applied to the interviews, and two themes were identified. The first major theme was “Perception that a Task Needs to Be Simple”, which showed that men and women have different feelings about the ease of using women’s contraceptives. Specifically, men perceive taking a pill to be easy; however, women believe that it is a difficult task, and their experiences suggest it is not easy to use oral contraceptives. This led to the perception that a contraceptive task needs to be easy for men to engage in it. The second major theme was “Societal Pressure for Responsibility”, which showed that men and women felt differently about responsibility for contraceptives because of societal pressure. This means that people believe men and women should have specific contraceptive responsibilities instead of sharing the responsibility, such as men bringing condoms and women using an oral contraceptive. Understanding what factors influence men’s and women’s perceptions of their role in contraceptive use and why someone may not be willing to use other forms of contraceptives could help determine whether male contraceptives will be used if these additional forms become available. This project is important because the research will help address the gender gap seen with contraceptive responsibility that places unjustified burden on women.

Department

Psychology

Thesis Comittee

Dr. Theresa E. Jackson, Thesis Advisor

Dr. Joseph R. Schwab, Committee Member

Prof. Stephanie C. Penley, Committee Member

Copyright and Permissions

Original document was submitted as an Honors Program requirement. Copyright is held by the author.

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