Anu Manchikanti Gómez1, Stephanie Arteaga2, Elodia Villaseñor3, Jennet Arcara2, Bridget Freihart4. 1. Assistant Professor and Director, Sexual Health and Reproductive Equity (SHARE) Program, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley. 2. Research Associate, Sexual Health and Reproductive Equity (SHARE) Program, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley. 3. Project Director, Sexual Health and Reproductive Equity (SHARE) Program, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley. 4. Graduate Student Researcher, Sexual Health and Reproductive Equity (SHARE) Program, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Researchers have developed various measures of pregnancy ambivalence in an effort to capture the nuance overlooked by conventional, binary measures of pregnancy intention. However, the conceptualization and operationalization of the concept of ambivalence vary widely and may miss the complexity inherent in pregnancy intentions, particularly for young people, among whom unintended pregnancy rates are highest. METHODS: To investigate the utility and accuracy of current measures of pregnancy ambivalence, a mixed-methods study was conducted with 50 young women and their male partners in northern California in 2015-2016. Survey data were used to descriptively analyze six existing pregnancy ambivalence measures; in-depth interviews addressing pregnancy desires and plans were deductively coded and thematically analyzed to understand why some participants appeared to be ambivalent from the survey data when their interview responses suggested otherwise. RESULTS: Eighty participants would be considered ambivalent by at least one measure. After assessment of the interview data, however, these measures were deemed to have misclassified almost all (78) participants. Qualitative analysis revealed several themes regarding misclassification: conflation of current pregnancy desires with expected postconception emotional responses; acceptability of an undesired pregnancy; tempering of survey responses to account for partners' desires; perceived lack of control regarding pregnancy; and, among participants with medical conditions perceived to impact fertility, subjugation of pregnancy desires in the interest of self-protection. CONCLUSIONS: Current approaches to measuring pregnancy ambivalence may fail to capture the intricacies of pregnancy intentions and may be ineffective if they do not account for young people's experiences, especially when used to inform clinical practice, programs and policy.
CONTEXT: Researchers have developed various measures of pregnancy ambivalence in an effort to capture the nuance overlooked by conventional, binary measures of pregnancy intention. However, the conceptualization and operationalization of the concept of ambivalence vary widely and may miss the complexity inherent in pregnancy intentions, particularly for young people, among whom unintended pregnancy rates are highest. METHODS: To investigate the utility and accuracy of current measures of pregnancy ambivalence, a mixed-methods study was conducted with 50 young women and their male partners in northern California in 2015-2016. Survey data were used to descriptively analyze six existing pregnancy ambivalence measures; in-depth interviews addressing pregnancy desires and plans were deductively coded and thematically analyzed to understand why some participants appeared to be ambivalent from the survey data when their interview responses suggested otherwise. RESULTS: Eighty participants would be considered ambivalent by at least one measure. After assessment of the interview data, however, these measures were deemed to have misclassified almost all (78) participants. Qualitative analysis revealed several themes regarding misclassification: conflation of current pregnancy desires with expected postconception emotional responses; acceptability of an undesired pregnancy; tempering of survey responses to account for partners' desires; perceived lack of control regarding pregnancy; and, among participants with medical conditions perceived to impact fertility, subjugation of pregnancy desires in the interest of self-protection. CONCLUSIONS: Current approaches to measuring pregnancy ambivalence may fail to capture the intricacies of pregnancy intentions and may be ineffective if they do not account for young people's experiences, especially when used to inform clinical practice, programs and policy.
Authors: Richard A Crosby; Ralph J Diclemente; Gina M Wingood; Susan L Davies; Kathy Harrington Journal: Am J Obstet Gynecol Date: 2002-02 Impact factor: 8.661
Authors: John Santelli; Roger Rochat; Kendra Hatfield-Timajchy; Brenda Colley Gilbert; Kathryn Curtis; Rebecca Cabral; Jennifer S Hirsch; Laura Schieve Journal: Perspect Sex Reprod Health Date: 2003 Mar-Apr