Abstract
Objectives
To examine contraceptive methods used by adolescent/young adult women of diverse sexual
orientations.
Study design
We collected data from 12,902 females, born 1982–1995, from the longitudinal Growing
Up Today Study.
Results
Compared to heterosexuals, lesbians were half as likely to use contraceptives; other
sexual minority subgroups (e.g., bisexuals) were more likely to use contraceptives,
particularly long-acting reversible contraceptives.
Conclusions
Many sexual minority women use contraception throughout adolescence/young adulthood,
though use is low among lesbians.
Implications
With limited contraception use, lesbians miss opportunities for care and need to be
brought into the healthcare system in other ways.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 13, 2020
Accepted:
November 4,
2020
Received in revised form:
October 31,
2020
Received:
July 28,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
