Women on hormonal contraception: a behavioral biopsychosocial perspective
Subject
Contraception; Oral contraceptives; Contraception Psychological aspects; Women Sexual behavior; Menstrual cycle; Birth control; Ovulation; Mate selection Psychological aspects; Risk-taking (Psychology)Abstract
Normally cycling females experience natural cyclic shifts in their physical appearance
and in various psychological traits (Haselton & Gildersleeve, 2011; Alvergne & Lummaa, 2009).
When women use hormonal contraception (HC), these natural cyclical changes are no longer
present (Welling et al., 2012; Miller, Tybur, & Jordan, 2007). Many physical differences
between hormonal contraception users and non-users have been examined (Shulman, 2011).
However, far fewer psychological and behavioral traits that are likely associated with hormonal
contraceptive use have been studied. My goal was to examine relevant dispositional and
behavioral traits that differ in hormonal contraceptive users and non-users. The variables
examined include life history strategy, sociosexuality, intrasexual competition, social support
and risk-taking behavior. One’s life history strategy is indicative of one’s mating pattern among
other attitudes and behavior relevant to reproductive success. Sociosexuality is an individual’s
tendency to engage in promiscuous behavior. Intrasexual competition is the competition among
members of the same sex over mates and status. I included these variables based on the broad
prediction that a lack of ovulation leads women to spend a higher proportion of time in a state of
long-term mating (with the idea that these women do not experience the ovulatory state so wellnoted
for leading to various short-term mating tactics). Thus, women on HC were predicted to
show markers of a relatively slow life history and a relatively restricted sociosexuality, coupled
with low levels of both intrasexual competition and risky behavior. HC users reported to engage
in between-group competition risk-taking more heavily compared to non-users in their ovulatory
phase. HC users reported a more restricted sociosexuality in terms of the desire facet compared
to non-users. HC users reported to receive higher levels of social support compared to normally
cycling women. Lastly, HC users reported to be more intrasexually competitive compared to
normally cycling women in their ovulatory phase.
Description
hormonal contraception, life history strategy, sociosexuality, intrasexual competition,
female social support, risk-taking behavior