The role of family planning communications--an agent of reinforcement or change.

Results are presented of a multiple classification analysis of responses to a 1972 KAP survey in Taiwan of 2013 married women aged 18-34 designed to determine whether family planning communication is primarily a reinforcement agent or a change agent. 2 types of independent variables social demographic variables including age number of children residence education employment status and duration of marriage; and social climate variables including ever receiving family planning information from mass media and ever discussing family planning with others were used. KAP levels the dependent variables were measured by 2 variables each: awareness of effective methods and awareness of government supply of contraceptives for knowledge wish for additional children and approve of 2-child family for attitude and never use contraception and neither want children nor use contraception for practice. Social demographic and attitudinal variables were found to be the critical ones while social climate and knowledge variables had only negligible effects on various stages of family planning adoption indicating that family planning communications functioned primarily as a reinforcement agent. The effects of social demographic variables were prominent in all stages of contraceptive adoption. Examination of effects of individual variables on various stages of family planning adoption still supported the argument that family planning communications played a reinforcement role. Family planning communications functioned well in diffusing family planning knowledge and accessibility but social demographic variables and desire for additional children were the most decisive influences on use of contraception.