Abstract
Multivariate analysis of survey data from women at risk of pregnancy in three cultures (Venezuela, Kenya, and Philippines) are used to examine the relative impacts of socio-demographic and personal psychological determinants on contraceptive intentions and actions. The analyses show that the impacts of behavioral intentions on contraceptive actions vary significantly by cultures and socio-demographic strata. The consistency between contraceptive intentions and actionalso varied significantly by several social psychological factors which are discussed. The analyses revealed that within a given cultural and sociodemographic setting, contraceptive action is a function of the additive effects of these factors: specific behavioral intentions, social support, accessibility of services, and the action situation. The paper discusses implications for research and policy.
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Please send request for reprints to Snehendu Kar, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
This is a revised version of a paper presented at the 89th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, held in Los Angeles, CA, August 24–28, 1981.
This research was made possible through grants from the Office of Population and Humanitarian Affairs, Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C., and from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris. The authors extend special thanks to Dr. Ramon Gonzales-Cerrutti, codirector of the Field Trial project in Venezuala; to Dr. Gloria Feliciano, Dean, Institute of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines, codirector in the Philippines; and to Cynthia Dean and Joseph Mbindyo, who assumed major responsibilities for the field operations in Kenya. The Institute of Development Studies, University of Nairobi, provided administrative support for the project in Kenya. In Venezuela, the Association Venezolana de Planificacion Familiar supported the initial phases of the project, while the Ministerio de Sanidad Asistencia Social supported the later phases. These institutions deserve special recognition for their administrative support, without which these baseline surveys could not have been implemented.
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Kar, S., Cumberland, W. Impacts of behavioral intentions, social support, and accessibility on contraception: A cross-cultural study. Popul Environ 7, 17–31 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01257470
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01257470