Family Planning Perspectives |
Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward the Pill: |
| Table 1. Percentage distribution of men and women aged 20-49, by level of awareness of the pill, and percentage knowing the correct response to knowledge questions about the pill, all according to gender, Japan, March 1999 | |||
| Pill-related measures | Total | Women | Men |
| (N=630) | (N=374) | (N=256) | |
| Level of awareness | |||
| Recognize pill and know its purpose | 79.2 | 81.6 | 75.8 |
| Only heard of pill (unaware of purpose) | 17.9 | 16.6 | 19.9 |
| Never heard of pill | 2.9 | 1.9 | 4.3 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| % with accurate knowledge about pill regarding | |||
| Prevention of conception | 82.7 | 83.7 | 81.3 |
| Protection against HIV infection | 77.0 | 77.0 | 77.0 |
| Protection against STD infection | 74.1 | 73.8 | 74.6* |
| Suppression of ovulation | 61.9 | 64.4 | 58.2* |
| Effect on sperm | 56.3 | 58.3 | 53.5 |
| Nausea and bleeding as possible side effects | 51.0 | 56.7 | 42.6*** |
| Weight gain as possible side effect | 51.6 | 58.6 | 41.4*** |
| *Difference by gender is statistically significant at p<.05. ***Difference by gender is statistically significant at p<.001. | |||
| Table 2. Percentage of respondents agreeing with various reasons for either favoring or not favoring the pill, by gender | |||
| Reasons | Total | Women | Men |
| For positive impression of pill | (N=276) | (N=163) | (N=113) |
| Is a highly effective method | 46.7 | 47.9 | 45.1 |
| Increases the choice of contraceptive methods | 39.1 | 36.2 | 43.4** |
| Is a female-controlled method | 35.5 | 42.3 | 25.7** |
| Is easier to use than other methods | 23.6 | 20.2 | 28.3 |
| Increases enjoyment of sex | 9.8 | 8.0 | 12.4 |
| For negative impression of pill | (N=263) | (N=163) | (N=100) |
| Has side effects | 78.7 | 84.0 | 70.0*** |
| Undermines sexual morality | 34.6 | 31.3 | 40.0 |
| Places sole responsibility for contraception on women | 32.7 | 39.9 | 21.0*** |
| Increases incidence of STD infection | 24.3 | 22.7 | 27.0* |
| Increases incidence of HIV infection | 25.9 | 23.3 | 30.0 |
| *Difference by gender is statistically significant at p<.05. **Difference by gender is statistically significant at p<.01. ***Difference by gender is statistically significant at p<.001. Notes: Respondents could give multiple reasons. Data are based only on the 539 respondents who answered the question. | |||
| Table 3. Percentage distribution of respondents, by desire to use the pill if it were approved, according to gender and age-group | ||||
| Gender and age-group | Yes | No | Do not know | Total |
| All (N=630) | 12.1 | 64.1 | 23.8*** | 100.0 |
| Women (N=374) | 10.7 | 71.9 | 17.4 | 100.0 |
| 20-29 | 14.0 | 68.8 | 17.2 | 100.0 |
| 30-39 | 10.3 | 70.6 | 19.0 | 100.0 |
| 40-49 | 9.0 | 74.8 | 16.1 | 100.0 |
| Men (N=256) | 14.1 | 52.7 | 33.2 | 100.0 |
| 20-29 | 14.9 | 52.2 | 32.8 | 100.0 |
| 30-39 | 12.9 | 58.6 | 28.6 | 100.0 |
| 40-49 | 14.3 | 49.6 | 36.1 | 100.0 |
| ***Difference by gender is statistically significant at p<.001. | ||||
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© copyright 2001, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. |