Adaptation of the Contraceptive Behavior Scale for Mexican Heterosexual Populations

Introduction: The Contraceptive Behavior Scale requires adaptation for use by health professionals among Mexican heterosexual populations of reproductive age. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design assessed adaptation of the Contraceptive Behavior Scale. Results: Six hundred Mexican men and women of reproductive age (18-35 years) were recruited from a second-level health care unit in a metropolitan area in Mexico. Exploratory factor analysis identified two factors with an explanatory variance of 69.238%. Confirmatory factor analysis identified acceptable index values. Cronbach alpha of .729 obtained for the scale was acceptable. Significant correlation (p = .007) was observed between Contraceptive Conduct and participant gender. Component 1 constituted Items 1, 2, and 4, while Component 2 consisted of Items 3 and 5. No items were eliminated as adequate factorial saturation was present. Conclusions: The Contraceptive Conduct Scale is a reliable assessment tool for Mexican men and women of reproductive age. This scale is potentially useful for health professionals to assess contraceptive behavior in heterosexual couples of reproductive age. Clinicians may use the tool to obtain information for development of strategies responding to sexual and reproductive health needs of both men and women.