Trends, patterns, and sociodemographic determinants of contraceptive use among adolescent girls in India: insights from four National Family Health Surveys
Pandurang Vithal Thatkar, Mukesh Suresh Bawa, Atul Vilas Desale, Rahul Bhagchand Chavan, Harshal Tukaram PandveAbstract
Background:
Adolescent pregnancy remains a major public health concern in developing countries. A substantial share of pregnancies among girls aged 15–19 is unintended, with many ending in unsafe abortions that contribute significantly to maternal morbidity and mortality. Although knowledge of family planning methods is relatively widespread, contraceptive use among adolescents remains low in many resource-limited settings. This study aimed to examine long-term trends, patterns, and sociodemographic determinants of contraceptive use among adolescent girls in India from 1992 to 2016.
Materials and Methods:
This study used pooled secondary data from four nationally representative rounds of the National Family Health Survey (1992–1993, 1998–1999, 2005–2006, and 2015–2016). The analysis included adolescent girls aged 15–19 years. Descriptive statistics were used to assess trends in contraceptive use across survey rounds. Associations between current contraceptive use and selected sociodemographic variables were evaluated using appropriate inferential statistical methods. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify independent predictors, adjusting for survey design and clustering effects.
Results:
The prevalence of current contraceptive use among adolescent girls declined markedly over the study period, from 7.06% in 1992–1993 to 1.87% in 2015–2016. However, among contraceptive users, the proportion of adolescents using modern methods increased in later survey rounds. Significant associations were observed between contraceptive use and factors such as age, marital status, educational attainment, place of residence, and employment status.
Conclusion:
Despite the high awareness of family planning, contraceptive use among adolescents in India has declined over time. The growing preference for modern contraceptive methods is encouraging; however, strengthened adolescent-centered and equity-focused family planning interventions are needed to reduce unmet contraceptive need and prevent unintended adolescent pregnancies.