GPs, schoolgirls and sex: A cross cultural background comparison of general practitioner attitudes towards contraceptive service provision for young adolescent females in Scotland

No previous studies have examined the influences of cultural background on the provision of contraceptive services to females under 16 years of age. A research project was undertaken to investigate any differences between general practitioners trained in the United Kingdom and those trained in the Indian sub-continent in relation to contraceptive service provision to females under 16 years of age. A self-completion postal questionnaire survey was distributed to 230 unrestricted principal general practitioners across Scotland. Subjects were identified from the Medical Register.¹ Half of the sample consisted of all those working in Scotland who had been trained in the Indian sub-continent. The other half were a comparable group that had been trained in the United Kingdom and were selected by quasi-random quota sampling. The response rate was 57 per cent (131/230). General practitioners in the study who had trained in the Indian subcontinent were found to be significantly less likely to provide contraceptive services to a female under 16 years of age than those who had trained in the United Kingdom. Cultural background may be influential in general practitioner provision of contraceptive services to females below the legal age of consent for sexual intercourse. In order to obtain more conclusive evidence a larger study is necessary. Such investigations must be undertaken with appropriate sensitivity and social awareness.