Trends in Contraceptive Use among University Women, 1974–1983: A Decade of Change

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Abstract
Data obtained from interviews with nearly 4,700 female students utilizing a university contraceptive clinic over ten consecutive years (1974–1983) indicated that the pill was the most popular contraceptive of three prescription methods (pills, IUD, and diaphragm). Although the pill dominated in each of the ten years examined, the percentage of women using this method substantially declined from 1974 (89%) to 1983 (73%). However, the percentage of pill users slightly increased after 1980 and remained fairly constant. Conversely, a trend of increased diaphragm selection emerged over time, with only 6% of the study population choosing this method in 1974, compared with 25% ten years later. Diaphragm use, however, peaked in 1980 (33%) and then declined during the following three years. Ethnicity was significantly correlated with pill and diaphragm preference. A higher percentage of black (84%) and Hispanic (78%) women selected pills, compared with white women (69%), but a higher percentage of whites (24%) chose diaphragms, compared with blacks (12%) and Hispanics (15%). Pill use was inversely related to age, but diaphragm and IUD preference increased with age. These patterns are consistent with national trends in contraceptive use over the past decade and indicate that the pill may be making a comeback.