Qualitative interviews with young women attending community colleges were used to address why women who do not desire pregnancy vary in how consistently they use contraception. Based on our analysis of the women's sexual histories, we argue that five factors are key to promoting or discouraging consistent use of contraception: efficacy (women's ability to put an intention to contracept into practice), the actions and attitudes of male partners, being in a long‐term relationship, whether women experience side effects, and misinformation or erroneous reasoning about pregnancy risk. Variations in how these factors combine at different times in women's lives explain much about their patterns of contraceptive consistency.

We investigate the effect of children's exposure to local violence on grade failure in Mexico. We construct an annual panel of all elementary schools from 1990 to 2010 and merge municipality-level homicide rates to analyze the effect of exposure to local homicide. Using a variety of causal inference techniques, we consistently find that exposure to local violence increases the probability of failing a grade in elementary school. This effect is net of demographic, economic, and migratory trends usually associated with violence and is likely driven by heightened fear and anxiety and change in parenting practices. Our findings suggest that violent crime in children's environments compromises early educational achievement and may have long-lasting consequences on human capital formation and economic well-being.

Abstract:We use data from the 2002-2013 National Surveys of Family Growth to examine change across U.S. cohorts born between 1966 and 1995 in whether individuals have had sex with same-sex partners only, or with both men and women, and in whether they have a bisexual or gay identity. Adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, immigrant status, and mother's education, we find increases across cohorts in the proportion of women who report a bisexual identity, who report ever having had sex with both sexes, or who report having had sex with women only. By contrast, we find no cohort trend for men; roughly 5 percent of men in every cohort have ever had sex with a man, and the proportion claiming a gay or bisexual attraction changed little. We speculate that this gender difference is rooted in a broader pattern of asymmetry in gender change in which departures from traditional gender norms are more acceptable for women than men.Keywords: sexualities; gender; bisexuality; homosexuality; cohorts I T is often recognized that norms about gender and sexuality are linked, such that one violates gender norms by identifying as gay or bisexual, or by having sex with a same-sex partner (Pascoe 2007;England 2016). What is less often recognized is a link between trends in the gender and sexuality systems. Gender change has been asymmetric, with women taking on traditionally male activities more than vice versa (England 2010). Consistent with this more general pattern, we will show that the proportion of women who have had sex with a same-sex partner or who identify as bisexual has increased, with no parallel change for men.Several recent papers, focused mostly on period change in the 1990s and early 2000s, note an upward trend in sex with same-sex partners (Turner et al. 2005;Butler 2005;Twenge et al. 2016). Our study takes a cohort rather than period perspective, examining change across birth cohorts born between 1966 and 1995. We use data from the National Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG) collected between 2002 and 2013. Separately for men and women, we examine change across cohorts in sex with same-sex partners and in gay or bisexual identities using models that adjust for respondents' age, race, ethnicity, immigrant status, and socioeconomic background (measured with mother's education). We also examine whether trends have been significantly different along these dimensions. To foreshadow, we find substantial evidence of increases in women's sexual behavior with same-sex partners and in women's bisexual identity, but little change for men. We also find that trends differ little by race, ethnicity, immigration status, or socioeconomic background.

Objectives Although multi-component policy interventions can be important tools to increase access to contraception, we know little about how they may change contraceptive use among postpartum women. We estimate the association of the Delaware Contraceptive Access Now (DelCAN) initiative with use of postpartum Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC). DelCAN included Medicaid payment reform for immediate postpartum LARC use, provider training and technical assistance in LARC provision, and a public awareness campaign. Methods We used a difference-in-differences design and data from the 2012 to 2017 pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system to compare changes in postpartum LARC use in Delaware versus 15 comparison states, and differences in such changes by women’s Medicaid enrollment. Results Relative to the comparison states, postpartum LARC use in Delaware increased by 5.26 percentage points (95% CI 2.90–7.61, P < 0.001) during the 2015–2017 DelCAN implementation period. This increase was the largest among Medicaid-covered women, and grew over the first three implementation years. By the third year of the DelCAN initiative (2017), the relative increase in postpartum LARC use for Medicaid women exceeded that for non-Medicaid women by 7.24 percentage points (95% CI 0.12–14.37, P = 0.046). Conclusions for Practice The DelCAN initiative was associated with increased LARC use among postpartum women in Delaware. During the first 3 years of the initiative, LARC use increased progressively and to a greater extent among Medicaid-enrolled women. Comprehensive initiatives that combine Medicaid payment reforms, provider training, free contraceptive services, and public awareness efforts may reduce unmet demand for highly effective contraceptives in the postpartum months.

Many sexually active single women do not want to get pregnant but use contraception inconsistently. To explore why, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with 99 unmarried women in their 20s, asking about contraception with each of their sexual partners. The authors present quantitative and qualitative evidence that contraceptive inconsistency sometimes results from having too little efficacy, a concept that includes the subconcepts of planfulness, self-regulation, assertiveness, and believing that one can affect one's goals. The authors discuss how sociologists should think about personal characteristics such as low efficacy that may stem from disadvantaged origins and affect desired outcomes.