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Habit Strength and Adherence to Oral Contraceptives: the Role of Time- and Place-Based Cues

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Abstract

Purpose

Non-adherence to the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) has been reported by almost half of OCP users. As the efficacy of the OCP requires daily adherence, poor adherence often leads to unplanned pregnancies in women who depend on this method of contraception. This study aims to investigate the association between habit strength and time- and place-based cues in the context of adherence to the OCP.

Methods

A cross-sectional questionnaire of 245 current OCP users with a mean age of 22.41 years (SD = 4.78) and a range of 18–52 years was conducted. The Self-Report Behavioural Automaticity Index was employed to measure habit strength. The Medication Adherence Report Scale was used and modified to refer to OCP non-adherence specifically. Additional measures were employed to assess the use of time- and place-based cues. Data were analysed using correlational analyses.

Results

Stronger habit strength was associated with better adherence to the OCP (r = − 0.25, p < .001). Having a fixed time of day to take the OCP was associated with habit strength and OCP adherence. Having a fixed place to store the OCP was associated with habit strength but not with OCP adherence.

Conclusions

Time- and place-based cues are likely to be an important part of any intervention design to support adherence and strengthen the habit of taking the OCP. It is recommended that future replications include longitudinal study designs and analyses.

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Funding

An NUI Galway College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies Summer Scholarship was awarded to the first author [JM] in 2017 which supported the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, NUI Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Jane Murphy, Neidin Eustace, Kiran M. Sarma & Gerard J. Molloy

Authors
  1. Jane Murphy
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  2. Neidin Eustace
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  3. Kiran M. Sarma
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  4. Gerard J. Molloy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gerard J. Molloy.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Murphy, J., Eustace, N., Sarma, K.M. et al. Habit Strength and Adherence to Oral Contraceptives: the Role of Time- and Place-Based Cues. Int.J. Behav. Med. 25, 431–437 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-018-9729-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-018-9729-9

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