Despite a variety of contraceptives being available for women in South Africa, a considerable number of adolescent girls and young women still face challenges in using them. This paper examines socio-demographic and behavioral predictors of using contraceptives among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15 to 18 24 years. A secondary data analysis was conducted based on the 2012 population-based nationally representative multi-stage stratified cluster randomised household survey. Multivariate backward stepwise logistic regression model was used to examine socio-demographic and behavioural factors independently associated with contraceptive use amongst AGYW aged 15 to 24 years in South Africa. Out of 1460 AGYW, 78% (CI: 73.9-81.7) reported using some form of contraceptives. In the model, contraceptive use was significantly associated with secondary education OR = 1.8 (1.2-2.7), p = 0.005, having a sexual partner within 5 years of their age OR = 1.8 (1.2-2.5), p = 0.002, and sexual debut at age 15 years and older OR = 2.5 (1.3-4.6), p = 0.006. The likelihood of association decreased with other race groups-White, Coloured, and Indians/Asians OR = 0.5 (0.3-0.7), p = 0.001, being married OR = 0.4 (0.2-0.7), p = 0.001, never given birth OR = 0.7 (0.5-0.9), p = 0.045, coming from rural informal OR = 0.5 (0.3-0.9), p = 0.010 and rural formal settlements OR = 0.5 (0.3-0.9), p = 0.020. Evidence suggest that interventions should be tailor-made to meet the needs of AGYW in order to, promote use and access to contraceptives. The results also suggest that family planning interventions should target those who had not given birth in order to reduce unplanned/unintended pregnancies and associated risk factors. These findings contribute to public health discourse and reproductive health planning for these age groups in the country.
Human Sciences Research Council (2026) studied this question.