Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/97604118135
Angelica Crown
Angelica (she/her) is a member of the class of 2025 at Wesleyan University. She is a Neuroscience and Behavior major and a Dance minor. Angelica is an assistant in a research lab at Wesleyan with Professor Kurtz where they work with schizophrenia patients and on meta-analysis projects. She likes to spend time outdoors while reading and crocheting.
Abstract: Adolescents generally have a negative perception of immediate pregnancy, but a surprising number (>22%) are ambivalent as to the use of contraception and the responsibilities that come with pregnancy (Dixon et al., 2018). Regarding gender differences, young males take less responsibility to use birth control than their female partners. This discrepancy is associated with a decrease in condom usage for adolescent boys and this difference increases when the female partner is on a form of hormonal or non-hormonal birth control (Smith et al., 2010).
This research project explored adolescents’ perceptions of pregnancy risks and their ability to stop themselves to use contraception, even when highly aroused. Biological sex was also examined as a possible moderating variable. Further research with more highly controlled variables is still needed, but this study adds to the literature showing that the responsibility of using birth control does not fall evenly on the shoulders of biological men and women respectively.
Angelica-Crown-QAC201-Final-Poster-2