A Test of Luker's Theory of Contraceptive Risk-Taking
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10796320 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul V Crosbie (corresponding author), Dianne Bitte |
| Year | 1982 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 67 |
| Publication date | 1982-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Family Planning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0039-3665 • E-ISSN: 1728-4465 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1966179 |
| PMID | 7147315 |
| OpenAlex | W2322075348 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 4 |
A4mong the dozen or so theories of contraceptive motivation to appear in the literature in recent years, none has had the widespread appeal of Kristin Luker's Taking Chances. 1 It is easy to understand the appeal of Luker's theory. The theory provides an intuitively plausible and politically acceptable explanation for contraceptive behavior. However, intuition and politics are not substitutes for empirical confirmation, and to date Luker's theory has not been supported by research.2 The need for empirical confirmation is particularly apparent in this case, since Luker's original research did not include any controls. Luker drew her theory from relatively unstructured interviews with a small sample of contraceptive risk-takers who were, at the time, experiencing therapeutic abortions.3 Because Luker's sample did not also include a reasonable comparison group of contraceptive users, we cannot be sure whether the motives attributed to contraceptive risk-takers are different from those of contraceptive users. Nor can we be sure whether any difference in motives that might exist between the two groups would be sufficient to account for their differences in contraceptive behavior. The research reported here was designed to overcome this serious shortcoming in Luker's research by providing a test of the theory among a more contraceptively varied population. It was fully expected that this research would lend needed support to Luker's theory, but it failed to do so
Test (biology · Medicine · Psychological Testing and Assessment · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Reproductive Health and Technologies
Coital frequency among single women
Social and attitudinal determinants of contraceptive choice
Pregnancy Risk Taking among Adolescents
The attitude/behavior discrepancy as a methodological artifact
Advantages and disadvantages of pregnancy and contraception
Sexual Attitudes and Contraception Among Females Across Five College Samples
Premarital sexual careers and partner change
Contraceptive risk-taking in a medically underserved, low-income population
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1986 - 1993 (8) |
| Highly cited | No |