Ambivalence about pregnancy and its association with symptoms of depression in adolescent females initiating contraception

Depression, Contraception, and Ambivalence Concerning Fertility

Individuals suffering from depression exhibit a higher rate of unintended pregnancies, which are associated with negative outcomes for both parents and children. Often, unintended pregnancies result from contraceptive mistakes. Here, we examine the relationship between depression and the consistency of contraceptive behavior, testing ambivalence as a possible mediator. The analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the second and third waves of the German Relationship and Family Panel Pairfam. A German-speaking sample without children (N = 190; 117 female, 73 male), who reported not attempting to conceive or become pregnant during the last 12 months, was analyzed in comparison with a propensity score matched sample. Ambivalence was operationalized as the difference between the ideal and realistic number of children in wave 2. Data from wave 3 were used to assess contraceptive behavior. Depressed mood in wave 2 and consistency of contraceptive behavior in wave 3 were negatively correlated. After including ambivalence in wave 2 as a mediator in the model, the direct path between depressed mood and consistency of contraceptive behavior remained significant, with no significant mediation found. For men only, we observed a significant negative association of ambivalence with the consistency of contraceptive behavior in the last 3 months. No significant relationship was found between depressed mood and ambivalence. We conclude that future research aiming to better understand the consistency of contraceptive behavior should incorporate measures of ambivalence.

Association of pregnancy attitudes and intentions with sexual activity and psychiatric symptoms in justice-involved youth

Context

With over one-third of detained girls experiencing teenage pregnancy, it is critical that the juvenile justice system better addresses the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of youth. Although pregnancy attitudes and intentions (PAI) are associated with pregnancy outcomes among the general adolescent population, this relationship has not been examined among justice-involved youth.

Methods

Participants were drawn from a longitudinal study characterizing trajectories of behavioral and reproductive health and recidivism among newly justice-involved youth in a Northeast family court. Baseline and four-month follow-up data from 288 justice-involved youth (JIY) were analyzed to characterize PAI; examine associations between pregnancy intentions and unprotected sexual activity (i.e., no hormonal, intrauterine, or barrier protection against pregnancy); and explore the relationship between pregnancy intentions and psychiatric symptoms.

Results

At baseline, 39% of JIY youth were sexually active, 44% of these youth reported inconsistent condom use and 14% had not used birth control at last sexual intercourse. Nearly half of sexually active youth reported some intent around pregnancy and those with any pregnancy intentions were more likely to report depression, low self-esteem, substance use, and trauma history. Pregnancy intentions at baseline predicted higher rates of unprotected sexual activity at four months (OR: 16.9, CI = 2.48-115.7).

Conclusions

This study highlights the importance of developing and implementing more comprehensive SRH assessments and brief interventions for youth entering the justice system.

Low Rates of Contraception Use in Women With Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Background

Women with human immunodeficiency virus (WWH) have low rates of hormonal or long-acting contraceptive use. Few studies have described contraception use among WWH over time.

Methods

We examined contraception (including all forms of hormonal contraception, intrauterine devices, and bilateral tubal ligations) use among cisgender women aged 18-45 years in care at Vanderbilt's human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinic in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1998 through 2018. Weighted annual prevalence estimates of contraception use were described. Cox proportional hazards models examined factors associated with incident contraception use and pregnancy.

Results

Of the 737 women included, median age at clinic entry was 31 years; average follow-up was 4.1 years. At clinic entry, 47 (6%) women were on contraception and 164 (22%) were pregnant. The median annual percentage of time on any contraception use among nonpregnant women was 31.7% and remained stable throughout the study period. Younger age was associated with increased risk of pregnancy and contraceptive use. Psychiatric comorbidity decreased likelihood of contraception (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.52 [95% CI {confidence interval}, .29-.93]) and increased likelihood of pregnancy (aHR, 1.77 [95% CI, .97-3.25]). While not associated with contraceptive use, more recent year of clinic entry was associated with higher pregnancy risk. Race, substance use, CD4 cell count, HIV RNA, smoking, and antiretroviral therapy were not associated with contraception use nor pregnancy.

Conclusions

Most WWH did not use contraception at baseline nor during follow-up. Likelihood of pregnancy increased with recent clinic entry while contraception use remained stable over time. Continued efforts to ensure access to effective contraception options are needed in HIV clinics.

Shedding light on attitudes towards pregnancy among Inuit adolescents from Nunavik

Better understanding attitudes toward pregnancy – a potent predictor of adolescent pregnancy – could help explain the high adolescent pregnancy rate in Nunavik, Canada. The objective of this study was to assess the distribution of different attitudes toward pregnancy and the factors associated with high pregnancy likelihood attitudes (HPLA; favourable, indifferent, and ambivalent), focusing on the perceived benefits of childbearing (BOC). T-tests, chi-square tests, and logistics regressions were performed based the answers of 159 Inuit women aged 16 to 20 years from the Qanuilirpitaa? survey. About 43% were ambivalent, 16% favourable, 5% indifferent, and 35% unfavourable toward pregnancy. Bivariate analysis indicate that the HPLA group was more likely to work, to report less frequent positive interactions, and to show a higher BOC score compared to others. Multivariate analysis show that an increased BOC score was associated with HPLA (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.01 − 1.18). Perceiving that a baby would strengthen the relationship with the other parent (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.15 − 2.37) and that it would help to access housing were individually associated with HPLA (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.02 − 2.10). Findings provide evidence to support Inuit adolescents’ reproductive choices.

Trauma exposure and adolescent attitudes toward having a baby: An exploratory survey

Objectives

To examine the association between childhood trauma exposure (i.e., extent of interpersonal trauma experienced in childhood) and attitudes toward teen parenthood.

Study design

We used a cross-sectional sample of 416 urban middle and high school male and female students from Tulsa, OK recruited through a local public school district mailing list. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine odds of reporting having a baby would make life worse, better, or cause no change according to childhood trauma score.

Results

Approximately 8% of students and their guardians responded to the mailed survey invitation. Among the students, 67% reported having a baby would make their lives worse; 17% reported it would not change their lives much, and 16% reported having a baby would make their lives better. Each increase in trauma score was associated with a 9% increase in reporting an indifferent attitude (p < 0.001) and a 15% increase in reporting a positive attitude toward having a baby (p < 0.01). After controlling for a wide range of sociodemographic, attitudinal, and sexual history variables, childhood trauma remained associated with a positive attitude toward having a baby (p<.01), but not an indifferent attitude toward having a baby.

Conclusions

Greater childhood trauma exposure is associated with indifferent and positive attitudes toward having a baby during adolescence.

Implications

Screening for childhood trauma and utilizing interventions designed to reduce the harmful effects of trauma exposure in childhood may offer a more targeted approach to adolescent pregnancy prevention strategies.

Applying systems thinking and human-centered design to development of intervention implementation strategies: An example from adolescent health research

Introducing innovative health interventions into clinic settings requires a comprehensive and creative approach to multiple implementation challenges. To optimize implementation of a sexual and reproductive health intervention for young women with depression, we applied systems thinking and human-centered design thinking methods to develop tools and strategies to address issues influencing intervention implementation in diverse clinics. We recruited staff from three clinics that provide sexual and reproductive health and behavioral health care to young women. Across five sessions (four video conference calls, one in-person workshop), we used systems mapping to identify key stakeholders and their relationships, processes, and challenges to care; formed clinic staff-investigator design teams; brainstormed about challenges that would influence intervention implementation and considered potential solutions; prioritized implementation challenges; and designed prototypes of solutions. Participants responded positively to the systems thinking perspective and collaborative design thinking process. Findings included generalizable considerations about solving implementation challenges for clinic-based interventions, such as forming a team of champions representing the diverse disciplines involved in and impacted by intervention implementation, and creating multiple tools and strategies for implementation that can be tailored to a given clinic’s culture.

Healthcare Clinician and Staff Perspectives on Facilitators and Barriers to Ideal Sexual Health Care to High-Risk Depressed Young Women: A Qualitative Study of Diverse Clinic Systems

STUDY OBJECTIVE

This study identified clinician and clinic staff perspectives on facilitators and barriers to providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care to depressed young women, a population at increased risk for adverse SRH outcomes.

DESIGN

We conducted in-person semi-structured qualitative interviews, which were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded by two researchers. We used thematic analysis to identify themes pertaining to care facilitators and barriers within a socio-ecological framework.

SETTING

This study was conducted in seven diverse clinics in the U.S. New England region.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 28 clinicians and staff (4/clinic), including behavioral health clinicians (n = 9), nurse practitioners (n = 7), nurses (n = 3), medical doctors (n = 3), administrative associates (n = 2), practice managers (n = 2), family planning counselor (n = 1), and medical assistant (n = 1).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

We queried how clinicians and clinic staff identify and manage depression and sexual risk, and what they perceive as facilitators and barriers affecting provision of ideal SRH care to depressed young women.

RESULTS

Themes represented facilitators of and barriers to providing ideal SRH care to high-risk depressed young women at five socio-ecological levels: individual (facilitator: trust in providers; barrier: stigma experiences), interpersonal/provider (facilitator: frequent patient-provider communication; barrier: lack of time during clinic visits to build trust), clinic (facilitator: integration of care; barrier: lack of scheduling flexibility), organization/community (facilitator: training for providers; barrier: funding constraints), and macro/societal (facilitator: supportive policies; barrier: mental health stigma).

CONCLUSION

Optimizing SRH care to high-risk depressed young women necessitates attention to factors on all socio-ecological levels to remove barriers and bolster existing facilitators of care.

Addressing Crises in Teenage Pregnancy

Background:

Adolescent pregnancy is a major public health concern with medical, psychiatric, and social implications. Within this population, there is an elevated rate of co-occurring psychiatric conditions including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, suicidality, and substance use. However, little is known about the assessment and treatment of adolescent pregnancy within the context of these co-occurring psychiatric conditions, particularly in an emergency situation.

Objective:

This article utilizes a case report to illustrate the challenges faced in consultative psychiatry in the assessment and treatment of a pregnant suicidal youth with a complex psychosocial history. Topics addressed include: 1) The role of childhood trauma and suicidality in adolescent pregnancy 2) A consideration of the risks and benefits of treating adolescents with psychotropics during pregnancy.

Method:

A literature search was performed with the key words of adolescent, pregnancy, child sexual abuse and psychiatric illness. In addition, expert opinions of a reproductive psychiatrist and a psychiatrist who had specialized in addiction and adolescents were enlisted on key aspects of the case formulation and treatment.

Results:

Several studies were found that focused on depression, substance abuse and trauma in adolescent pregnancy. There were more studies that looked at psychopharmacological treatment in adult pregnant women and a few that focused on adolescents.

Conclusion:

Addressing the crisis of psychiatric illness in adolescent pregnancy requires a thorough approach in understanding the severity of the illness and the contribution of child abuse and suicidality. Psychotherapeutic interventions are most certainly always necessary and beneficial when dealing with this population. Deciding when to start and maintain medication during pregnancy should be individualized, with considerations of the risks of untreated illness and of medication exposure.

Development and pilot testing of a counseling-plus-mHealth intervention to reduce risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection in young women with depression

BACKGROUND

Depressed young women have elevated rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The objective of this study was to develop and pilot-test a counseling-plus-mHealth intervention to reduce sexual and reproductive health (SRH) risk in young women with depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Using the Behavior-Determinants-Intervention logic model, we developed the Momentary Affect Regulation-Safer Sex Intervention (MARSSI) to address the challenges that depression imposes on SRH risk reduction efforts of high-risk young women: (I) in-person counseling using motivational interviewing (MI) to elicit motivation for safer sex and develop a behavior change plan, and teaching cognitive-behavioral skills to manage negative thoughts and affective states; (II) 4-week Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI) on a smartphone to report momentary phenomena related to depression and SRH risk, and receive personalized, tailored messages prompting healthy behaviors and encouraging cognitive-behavioral skill use when risk-related cognitions and negative affect are reported; and (III) booster counseling to review behavior change goals and plans and teach a new cognitive-behavioral skill. We developed the counseling through iterative interviews with 11 participants and developed the EMI through a 2-week trial with three participants, then revised MARSSI to reflect participant feedback. We next conducted a pilot-test among depressed, high-risk female adolescent clinic patients age 15-24. Pilot participants completed mental health, motivation to change behavior, and SRH behavior assessments and provided feedback at baseline, post-EMI, and at 3-month follow-up. We analyzed participant retention, counseling duration, app engagement, intervention quality ratings, and participant feedback, and compared mental health and SRH risk behavior across the study.

RESULTS

Seventeen participants completed the initial counseling session, 15 participated in the EMI, 14 returned for the booster session, and 14 completed the 3-month follow-up. App engagement was high for all 4 EMI weeks (≥1 report/day for median ≥6 days/week). Post-intervention, most or all participants agreed with each positive statement about the messages, reported "Excellent" MARSSI usefulness, and attributed improvements to MARSSI. Compared to baseline, post-EMI depressive symptoms, confidence to change self-selected risk behavior, and confidence to use the cognitive restructuring skill improved. At 3 months, depressive symptom scores remained lower and confidence to use cognitive restructuring remained higher, compared to baseline. Participants also reported lower frequency of sex, lower proportion of condom-unprotected sex events, and, among those using effective contraception, more consistent condom use at 3-month follow-up vs. baseline.

CONCLUSIONS

MARSSI was feasible, acceptable, and engaging to young women with depression and SRH risk behavior, and was associated with increased confidence to reduce SRH risk, decreased SRH risk behaviors, increased confidence to use cognitive restructuring, and decreased depressive symptoms over 3 months. Future research is warranted to evaluate MARSSI's efficacy to improve motivation, skills, affect, and behaviors, as well as reproductive health outcomes in high-risk depressed young women.

The Association between Mental Health Disorders and History of Unintended Pregnancy among Women Veterans

BACKGROUND

Women Veterans have high rates of mental health disorders and other psychosocial factors which may render this population particularly vulnerable to negative health outcomes associated with unintended pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of our study was to assess the relationship between self-reported mental illness and history of unintended pregnancy among women Veterans.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

Data are from a nationally representative, cross-sectional telephone survey of women Veterans, ages 18-45, who used VA for primary care within 12 months prior to interview (survey completion rate 83%).

MAIN MEASURES

Predictors were self-report of any and number of mental health disorders (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia). Outcomes were any and number of unintended pregnancies. Multivariable logistic and negative binomial regression were used to assess relationships between mental illness and unintended pregnancy. To assess women's current risk of unintended pregnancy, we examined associations between any mental health disorder and contraceptive use at last sex among heterosexually active women not desiring pregnancy.

KEY RESULTS

Among 2297 women Veterans, 1580 (68.8%) reported a history of at least one mental health disorder, with 20.1, 21.6, and 27.0% reporting one, two, or three or more conditions, respectively. Any history of unintended pregnancy was reported by 1315 women (57.3%); 28.3% reported one, 15.6% reported two, and 13.4% reported three or more. Compared to women with no mental illness, women with any mental health disorder were more likely to report any unintended pregnancy (60.3 vs. 50.5%; adjusted OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.15, 1.71) and to have experienced greater numbers of unintended pregnancies (adjusted incidence rate ratio 1.29; 95% CI 1.15, 1.44). Increasing numbers of mental health disorders were associated with greater numbers of unintended pregnancies. Contraceptive use and method efficacy at last sex did not differ by mental health status.

CONCLUSIONS

Women Veterans with mental health disorders are more likely to have experienced any and greater numbers of unintended pregnancies than Veterans without mental health disorders.

Family, Academic, and Peer Group Predictors of Adolescent Pregnancy Expectations and Young Adult Childbearing

Compared with previous generations, today's young people increasingly delay parenthood. Having children in the late teens and early 20s is thus a rarer experience rooted in and potentially leading to the stratification of American families. Understanding why some adolescents expect to do so can illuminate how stratification unfolds. Informed by theories of the life course, social control, and reasoned action, this study used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort (n = 4,556) to explore outcomes and antecedents of adolescent pregnancy expectations with logistic regressions. Results indicated that those expectations-including neither low nor high (i.e., split) expectations-predicted subsequent childbearing. These apparently consequential expectations were, in turn, most closely associated with youth's academics and peer groups. These findings illustrate how different domains can intersect in the early life course to shape future prospects, and they emphasize split pregnancy expectations reported in a nationally representative sample of young women and men.

An exploratory analysis of contraceptive method choice and symptoms of depression in adolescent females initiating prescription contraception

OBJECTIVE

We examine the association between depressive symptoms and contraceptive method choice among adolescents initiating prescription contraception.

STUDY DESIGN

This cross-sectional study analyzes baseline data of 220 urban, minority adolescent females (ages 15-19 years) presenting for prescription contraceptive initiation at a comprehensive, free-of-cost, adolescent health center in New York City. All participants met with a health care provider who provided standard contraception counseling before initiating contraception. Each participant then selected a short- or long-acting contraceptive: a 3-month supply of the pill, patch, ring or a medroxyprogesterone acetate depot injection (short-acting), or placement/referral for an intrauterine device (IUD; long-acting). We assess the independent association between contraceptive method selection and symptoms of depression [assessed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression (CES-D) scale].

RESULTS

Ten percent (n=21/220) of adolescent females selected an IUD. Bivariate analysis revealed that those with elevated levels of depressive symptoms were more likely to select an IUD as compared to those with minimal symptoms (mean CES-D score 20 vs. 13; t=3.052, p=.003). In multivariate logistic regressions, adolescent females had increased odds of selecting an IUD if they reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio=4.93; confidence interval, 1.53-15.83; p=.007) after controlling for ethnicity/race, education, number of lifetime partners and gravidity.

CONCLUSIONS

Inner-city, minority adolescents with elevated symptoms of depression who present for prescription contraceptive initiation may be more likely to select an IUD rather than shorter-acting methods. By recognizing adolescent females with depressive symptoms, providers can strategize their approach to effective contraception counseling.