Implicit Measures of Women's Beliefs About Contraception

Maria Gallo of Ohio State University in the U.S. will adapt a validated computer-based psychological test known as the Implicit Association Test to measure the true opinions of women in Vietnam on hormonal contraceptives in order to encourage use. Vietnam has one of the highest rates of abortion worldwide. Although hormonal contraceptives are available, it is thought that many women are worried about using them and instead use alternative methods that are generally less effective. Finding out exactly what these women think about hormonal contraceptives in order to dispel any myths is challenging because many people either don't say or don't realize what they think for a variety of social and psychological reasons. The Implicit Association Test overcomes this challenge by measuring the strength of the associations an individual makes between two pairs of contrasting concepts based on speed. They will adapt the test to determine opinions about the intrauterine device and oral contraception by measuring the strength of their associations with good or bad, and natural or unnatural. This will be tested using a cross-sectional study of 500 non-pregnant females.