In 1993 in Jamaica, field workers interviewed 5910 adults to collect data on knowledge and practices regarding fertility, family size, and fertility regulation. The only oversampled age group was 15-19 year old men. "Visiting" was the most common relationship for both women (32%) and men (30.7%). It peaked in the 20-24 year old age group for both sexes and fell thereafter. Common law unions and having no steady partner were more common than were marriages. Women and men desired a mean family size of 2.8 and 2.7, respectively. Desired family size rose with age for women (2.2 for 15-19 year olds and 3.4 for 40-44 year olds), but fell with age for men (3 and 2.3, respectively). Actual family size rose with age for both sexes (0.2-4.1 for women and 0-5 for men). Just 19.8% of all pregnancies were planned. 54% were mistimed. 21.9% were unwanted. Almost everyone knew at least one contraceptive method (99.1% for women and 97.7% for men). More than 50% of all adults were familiar with oral contraceptives (OCs), condoms, injection, female sterilization, and IUDs. Between 1976 and 1993 contraceptive usage rose from 46.3% to 66.5%. The 3 methods which women used at considerably higher levels than other methods were OCs (23.7%), condoms (19.7%), and female sterilization (13.4%). Men reported the three most common methods to be condoms (39%), OCs (20.3%), and female sterilization (8.2%). The most common source for OCs, injections, and condoms was the clinic/health center. Pharmacies were also major sources of OCs and condoms. Public hospitals were the most common source for female sterilization. The 15-17 year olds were the least sexually active group. 14-24 year old men were less likely to use contraception during first intercourse than women of the same age (22% vs. 42.8%). Married women were the most sexually active women while men in common law union were the most sexually active men. Overall, unmet need stood at 9.4%. Even though most people knew actual modes of AIDS transmission, there were also many misperceptions.