Reproductive Coercion by Male Sexual Partners: Associations With Partner Violence and College Women’s Sexual Health

Abstract

Reproductive coercion (RC) involves indirect and direct partner behaviors that interfere with effective contraceptive use. RC has been identified as a correlate of intimate partner violence (IPV) among ethnically diverse women sampled from urban health clinics or shelters. Research is needed to determine whether RC is experienced more generally by young women and, if so, whether RC is associated with IPV, multiple indicators of sexual health, or both. In the present study, sexually active undergraduate women ( N = 223, 80% Caucasian/White) provided self-report data on their sexual health and behaviorally specific lifetime experiences of both RC and partner physical violence. About 30% reported experiencing RC from a male sexual partner. Most commonly, RC involved condom manipulation or refusal within an adolescent dating relationship. Experiences of RC and partner violence were not independent; half of the women who reported RC also reported experiencing partner physical violence. Women with a history of RC reported a significantly reduced rate of contraceptive use during last vaginal sex and lower contraceptive and sexual self-efficacy. Additional research on the sociocultural and relational contexts of RC is needed.