The objectives of this study are to explore the level of willingness to
use contraceptive methods and to investigate the factors affecting the willingness to
use contraceptive methods among unmarried youths in Indonesia. There are many
youths in Indonesia who have had sex before marriage and most of them did not
use contraception in their first sexual experience. The number of abortions in
Indonesia has been increasing every year. Lack of knowledge and information
about sexual and reproductive health among youth put them at a disadvantage.
This study uses secondary data derived from quantitative research of
Indonesian Young Adults Reproductive Health Research Survey (IYARHS) 2007.
The total respondents of this study is 19,311 unmarried youths aged 15 – 24 years
old, consisting of 10,830 males and 8,481 females. The data illustrates that only
approximately 47 percent of unmarried youths in Indonesia were willing to use
contraceptive methods. Male youths have a higher proportion of willingness to use
contraceptive methods compared to female youths. Multivariate analysis using
binary logistic demonstrates that knowledge about reproductive health and media
exposure had a significant effect on the willingness to use contraceptive methods
among unmarried youths. Socio-demographic factors, knowledge about
reproductive health, media exposure, and sexual behavior in this study were good
predictors for the willingness to use contraceptive methods among unmarried
youths by having a statistically significant relationship.