Identifying adolescents at risk for noncompliance with contraceptive therapy.

The sociomedical characteristics of 96 sexually active adolescent females have been studied in order to understand noncompliance with the contraceptive prescription, an important antecendent of adolescent pregnancy. Compliance was found to correlate positively with postmenarchal age, frequency of intercourse, autonomy in making and paying for a clinic appointment specifically for the purpose of obtaining contraception, and acceptance of a method at the time of the initial clinic visit. These findings serve to alert the pediatrician to the adolescent at risk for noncompliance before the experience of failure, and in so doing to identify those in need of special assistance to ensure the success of contraceptive measures.