The Role of Relationship Power in Couple Decisions About Contraception in the Us

Abstract

Most analyses of the contraceptive decision making in which couples engage are based on the reports of only one partner, usually the female partner. This study uses information from the 2006 National Couples Survey that was obtained from both partners in intimate heterosexual relationships to investigate the relative impact of the male and female partner’s method preferences on the type of method they use together. It also investigates the extent to which differences in power between the partners, measured on multiple dimensions, may weigh the decision-making process toward one partner or the other. The results suggest that men’s and women’s method preferences are both significantly related to the couples’ method choice. Further, there is no evidence of a significant gender difference in the magnitude of these relationships although women in married and cohabiting relationships appear to have greater power over method choice than women in dating relationships. The analysis also finds that structural power as measured by relative education and income affects partner differences in the relationship between preferences and method choice, but is more important for married and cohabiting couples than for dating couples. In contrast, relationship-based power sources, including relative commitment and relative relationship alternatives, have significant effects only for dating couples.

Gender inequality and the ‘East-West’ divide in contraception: An analysis at the individual, the couple, and the country level

“…As for resources and contraception, the relationship between gender identities and contraceptive practice proves to be ambiguous. On the one hand, contraception is often perceived as a female sphere of influence because women bear the physical costs of pregnancy and birth, and are traditionally responsible for childcare (Grady et al 2010, Thomson 1997. Although women can feel compelled to take responsibility for contraception as part of their female role, others suggest that women engage in 'contraceptive gatekeeping' and that they report a clear preference for being primarily in charge of contraception (Fennell 2011).…”

Choice of birth control methods among European women and the role of partners and providers

“…Furthermore, as fertility care involves women and men, male partner opinions could also influence the choice of a FP method [12].…”

Power and the gendered division of contraceptive use in Western European couples

“…Only limited attention has been paid to reproductive choices, and more specifically contraceptive use, as a possible outcome of couples' power balance (Grady et al, 2010) but a number of scholars does focus on the influence of partner differentials on couples' contraceptive use. Two types of studies can be identified.…”

“…Grady et al, 2010;Kusunoki and Upchurch, 2011;Manning et al, 2009;Stolley, 1996), research on the social determinants of contraceptive use has mainly studied the female population, because reproduction and contraception are often framed as a female sphere of influence (Edwards, 1994;Fennell, 2011). Moreover, the majority of studies, also those that have taken men's as well as women's preferences and childbearing desires into account, have limited their attention to individual demographic characteristics, such as the influence of educational attainment or income level on the adoption of certain contraceptive methods (Anderson et al, 2012;Martinez et al, 2006;Moreau et al, 2006;Mosher and Jones, 2010;Oddens et al, 1994aOddens et al, , 1994bSpinelli et al, 2000).…”

“…Elaborating on Bertotti's (2013) and Fennell's (2011) studies, two alternative power perspectives-the relative resource theory and the gender perspectives-are applied. As studies consistently find that higher marital power, or a partner's ability to impose his/her will on the other (Blood and Wolfe, 1960), increases one's say in couples' decisions-making (Lachance-Grzela and Bouchard, 2010;Mannino and Deutsch, 2007), there is also a growing awareness that power within sexual relationships may affect individuals' ability to meet their reproductive goals (Grady et al, 2010).…”