Is the test result positive or negative? Tests that occur in labs and doctors’ offices pose specific questions to try to obtain specific information. But what happens in the social world when these tests never see the inside of a lab or doctor's office, and instead they are used in a house, in a Walmart bathroom, or in a dormitory bathroom stall? Putting the diagnosis aside, what does the presence of these tests do to social life? This paper examines one such test, the home pregnancy test, and specifically, its use in contemporary intimate life of people who do not want to be pregnant. Pregnancy tests test for pregnancy. But what else is the pregnancy test putting to the test? To investigate this, I spent 8 years studying American pregnancy tests using a qualitative mixed methods approach. This paper draws on some of my research materials, specifically, 85 life history interviews. Each participant was asked to recall, in full, all of their experiences with home pregnancy tests throughout their lives, resulting in well over 300 narratives of home pregnancy test usage which I qualitatively analyzed. I find that more than just a test for a pregnancy, the use of the home pregnancy test is a test of roles, relationships, and responsibilities in social life. These findings suggest implications for social life as more biomedical tests move out of the purview of the medical establishment.

中文翻译：

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怀孕测试正在测试什么。

测试结果是阳性还是阴性？在实验室和医生办公室进行的测试提出了特定的问题，试图获得特定的信息。但是，如果这些测试从未在实验室或医生办公室的内部看到，而是在房屋，沃尔玛浴室或宿舍的浴室隔间中使用，那么在社会世界中会发生什么？撇开诊断，这些测试的存在对社会生活有什么影响？本文研究了一种这样的测试，即家庭妊娠测试，尤其是它在不想怀孕的人的现代私密生活中的使用。怀孕测试测试怀孕。但是怀孕测试还有什么呢？为了对此进行调查，我花了8年的时间使用定性混合方法研究美国妊娠试验。本文借鉴了我的一些研究材料，具体来说，是85次生活史访谈。要求每个参与者全面回顾他们一生中进行家庭妊娠测试的所有经历，得出了300多种关于家庭妊娠测试使用情况的叙述，我对此进行了定性分析。我发现，不仅仅是妊娠测试，家庭妊娠测试的使用还可以测试社交生活中的角色，人际关系和责任。这些发现表明，随着越来越多的生物医学测试脱离医疗机构的权限，对社会生活将产生影响。我发现，不仅仅是妊娠测试，家庭妊娠测试的使用还可以测试社交生活中的角色，人际关系和责任。这些发现表明，随着越来越多的生物医学测试脱离医疗机构的权限，对社会生活将产生影响。我发现，不仅仅是妊娠测试，家庭妊娠测试的使用还可以测试社交生活中的角色，人际关系和责任。这些发现表明，随着越来越多的生物医学测试脱离医疗机构的权限，对社会生活将产生影响。