The Non-Use of Contraception among Italian University Students: A Calculated Risk?

Annalisa Busetta , University of Palermo
Alessandra De Rose , Sapienza University of Rome
Daniele Vignoli , University of Florence

Contraception is considered a rational strategy to prevent unwanted pregnancies. However, beyond the dichotomy of “planned” and “unplanned”, behaviours are sometimes ambivalent, contradictory, or poorly specified. The paper proposes a quantitative analysis of a group of Italian young women that, although not actively trying to have a baby, are nevertheless fine to run the risk of a pregnancy and thus have unprotected sexual intercourses. We analysed data of the Sexual and Emotional LiFe of Youths Surveys (2000 and 2017), a nationally representative sample of Italian university students. We investigate the reasons for the non-use of contraception and explore the covariate associated with them by a multinomial regression model. We detected a small but clearly defined group of young female students, cohabiting with the partner and residing in the South of the country, who have a high frequency of sexual intercourses and do not deliberate use any contraceptive method. They do not declare that “wish a child”, but “are fine to run the risk”. In a context like Italy, where the widespread sense of uncertainty is profoundly undermining young people’s family building plans and it is increasingly difficult for young adults to find the “right time” to have a child, some young female students could decide to consciously run a “calculated risk”. The recognition of this new risky profile suggests the need for supportive policies such as financial support and childcare facilities for female university students that have parenting responsibilities, as provided in other European countries.

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 Presented in Session 67. Infertility and Reproductive Health