Contraceptive and condom use

Definition

The proportion of secondary students aged 12 to 18 having sex who report always using contraception (of any kind) to prevent pregnancy, and having used a condom the last time they had sex,(1) as measured by the Youth'07 Survey.

Relevance

Available data indicates that sexually transmitted infections are relatively common within the youth population(2) and that rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea have increased significantly in recent years.(3)  New Zealand also has a high rate of teen pregnancy by international standards.  Use of contraception and condoms shows the extent to which sexually active young people take responsibility for their health and future wellbeing by taking precautions to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. 

Current level

According to the Youth’07 survey, the majority of sexually active young people use contraception and/or condoms to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. 

Of those secondary students having sex, over 80.5 percent reported using contraception most or all the time to prevent pregnancy.  However, 14.7 percent of students said that they had inconsistent contraception use. 68 percent of males and 58 percent of females reported having used a condom last time they had sex as a protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

Proportion of sexually active secondary students using contraception or condoms, by sex, 2001

Proportion of sexually active secondary students using contraception or condoms, by sex, 2001

Source: Adolescent Health Research Group (2003) New Zealand Youth: A profile of their health and wellbeing.  Auckland, University of Auckland. 

Notes

1. The context of the relevant survey question and the way it is phrased tend to indicate that it refers only to heterosexual sex.  Questions about sexual attraction (though not behaviour) are included separately in the Youth2000 survey.  The only data currently available on the safe sex practices of non-heterosexual young people in New Zealand relates to young gay men aged 15 and over, collected as part of the Gay men’s Online Sex Survey (GOSS) and Gay Auckland Periodic Sex Surveys (GAPSS), undertaken by the New Zealand Aids Foundation.

2. Ministry of Health (2002) Youth Health Status Report, Wellington Ministry of Health.

3. See Public Health Surveillance’s 2007 STI Surveillance Report