Littlejohn

Krystale Littlejohn

Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon
Chapter Member: Oregon SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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About Krystale

Littlejohn examines race, gender, and reproduction. She is particularly interested in how inequality shapes sexual and reproductive decision-making. Her projects include an investigation of gender and women’s experiences using birth control across relationships and how medical providers talk about birth control in contraception counseling visits.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Why Coverage of Prescription Contraception Matters for Men as Well as Women

Key Findings Brief,

Publications

"Why Do Young, Unmarried Women Who Don’t Want to Get Pregnant Contracept Inconsistently? Mixed-Method Evidence for the Role of Efficacy" (with Paula England, Monica Caudillo, Brooke Conroy Bass, and Joanna Reed). Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World 2, no. 1 (2016): 1-15.

Presents quantitative and qualitative evidence that contraceptive inconsistency sometimes results from having too little efficacy, a concept that includes the subconcepts of planfulness, self-regulation, assertiveness, and believing that one can affect one’s goals.

"Consistent and Inconsistent Contraception among Women 20-29: Insights from Qualitative Interviews" (with Joanna Reed, Paula England, Brooke Conroy, and Monica Caudillo). Family Relations 63, no. 2 (2014): 244-258.

Analyzes rich qualitative data from interviews with 51 unmarried women, age 20-29, including complete sexual histories with detailed narratives on each partner regarding contraceptive use and discontinuation.

"‘It’s Those Pills That are Ruining Me’: Gender and the Social Meanings of Hormonal Contraceptive Side Effects." Gender & Society 27, no. 6 (2013): 843-863.

Argues that the gendered emphasis on women’s appearance and emotionality shapes women’s perceptions about the seriousness of hormonal contraceptive side effects, like weight gain and emotional volatility, and their propensity to stop use as a result. 

"Hormonal Contraceptive Use and Discontinuation because of Dissatisfaction: Differences by Race and Education." Demography 49, no. 4 (2012): 1433-1452.

Examines the effects of race and education on the likelihood that women have ever used particular types of hormonal contraception and have ever discontinued hormonal contraception because of dissatisfaction.