Adolescent Males' Orientation Toward Paternity and Contraception.

Data from a nationally representative sample of 1,880 young men aged 15-19 reveal that neighborhood quality parental education, race or ethnicity and attitudes about male gender roles are related to young men's attitudes to ward an unplanned pregnancy and to their contraceptive experiences. Young men who live in poor neighborhoods are more likely to be pleased about an unplanned pregnancy than those who have better living conditions (12% vs. 2%) and are also more likely to view impregnating a woman as enhancing their masculinity (8% vs. 3%). Among men with average living conditions, 12% of black adolescents view fathering a child as enhancing their masculinity compared with 6% of white adolescents; among those with very good living conditions, these proportions were 10% and 2%, respectively. Young men whose parents had less education and those who held traditional male gender role attitudes were also more likely than their counterparts to view fathering a child as enhancing their masculinity Regarding contrac eptive behavior, sexually active black men and Hispanic men were more likely than white men to have discussed contraception with their last partner; black men were more likely to have used an effective contraceptive method the last time they had intercourse; and black men were more likely to have used a condom at last intercourse. However, young men who were aware that they had been responsible for a previous pregnancy were less likely than those who reported no pregnancies to have used an effective contraceptive the last time they had intercourse. These same young men were also more likely to report that fathering a child would please them and enhance their masculinity.

(Family Planning Perspectives, 25:22,1993)

Researchers, policymakers and social service providers have recently focused increased attention on the male partners of sexually active, pregnant and parenting young women. (1) As a result, our knowledge about young men's attitudes and behaviors in various areas of the reproductive realm (*) has grown considerably, although many questions remain unanswered. The introduction of social programs designed to establish paternity and enforce child support payments among young fathers has increased public awareness of the social significance of men's involvement in reproductive activities. (2) Efforts to encourage condom use to prevent the spread of AIDS may have also influenced the public's perception--as well as young men's own views--of men's contraceptive responsibility. (3)

Several scholars have discussed how social class factors shape individuals' fertility experiences. Christopher Jencks has observed the prevalence of two middle-class norms about childbearing today: that people should not have children until they are in their 20s, and that they should try to avoid having children out of marriage (or if they have them out of marriage, they should be able to support them). (4)

In the context of his larger discussion of the American underclass, Jencks identifies the reproductive underclass as those who deviate from these contemporary, middle-class childbearing norms. He also implies that members of the reproductive underclass are disproportionately represented in the socioeconomic underclass; therefore, restricted access (actual or perceived) to conventional cultural symbols associated with the middle class may encourage economically disadvantaged men to be less receptive to middle-class fertility norms. Moreover, they may perceive paternity, irrespective of their age or marital status, as an alternative means to enhance their masculinity and status within their subculture. (5) Those who perform poorly in school or who are not committed to achieving long-term educational and employment goals are probably less inclined to adopt a responsible orientation toward reproductive issues than those who are more motivated to achieve education and employment goals, because they believe an unpl anned pregnancy is less likely to disrupt their future.

Young men's race or ethnicity is another factor that may affect their procreative attitudes and experiences when social class indicators, such as parents' education and neighborhood quality, are equal. Researchers have found that whites' fertility values, norms and patterns generally differ from those of blacks, when social class is controlled. (6)

Furthermore, recent theoretical analyses have proposed that young men with traditional attitudes toward their gender role restrict their behavior in close relationships and express a greater tendency to take risks in their sexual and contraceptive behavior. 7) Young men who have stronger traditional attitudes about the male gender role will probably be more likely to define their masculinity in terms of their sexual and procreative prowess, and will be less likely to use condoms and participate in discussions about contraceptives. Men typically know less about contraception than do women, and view the reproductive realm as a female domain. (8) This pattern is likely to be accentuated, in some respects, among men who have more traditional views about masculinity.