Long-Term Effect of Exposure to a Friend's Adolescent Childbirth on Fertility, Education, and Earnings

The effect of a peer's teen pregnancy on sexual behavior

We examine whether a friend or older sibling's teen pregnancy impacts one's own sexual behavior. Employing an event study design and rich retrospective data on sexual activity, we find that those who observe a peer's teen pregnancy change sexual behavior after the pregnancy ends to put themselves at lower risk of their own teen pregnancy; specifically, they are less likely to have unprotected sex and have fewer sexual partners in the year following the end of the teen pregnancy. We find that females are more likely to change their sexual behavior compared to males, and the effects are primarily driven by peer live births, as opposed to other pregnancies. Ultimately, we find a slight decline in the likelihood of one's own teen pregnancy, though estimates are noisy. Our work suggests that education campaigns that provide a realistic portrayal of teen parenthood may be an effective tool for impacting teen behavior.

Socioeconomic determinants of teenage pregnancy and early motherhood in the United Kingdom: A perspective

The United Kingdom has one of the highest teenage birth rates among countries in western Europe. Government initiatives such as the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy introduced by the labor government in 1999 to reduce the teenage pregnancy rate by half in ten years could be responsible for the steady decline in teenage conception and childbirth for the past two decades. However, to sustain this decrease it is crucial to consider the broader socioeconomic and environmental determinants of teenage pregnancy at the population level. A selected literature search was conducted in this respect to highlight the factors that could be neglected by recent interventions on teenage pregnancy and childbirth in the United Kingdom.

A Social Ecology Analysis of Childbirth Among Females Emancipating From Foster Care

PURPOSE

No research has examined childbirth from a national perspective among females emancipating from foster care. The present study fills this gap by: (1) documenting the rates of initial and repeat births among females ages 17 and 19 in a national prospective study and (2) identifying risk and protective factors at age 17 that predict childbirth between ages 17 and 19.

METHODS

This study used data from the National Youth in Transition Database and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System to identify risk and protective factors associated with childbirth in a national sample of transition-age female youth (N = 3,474).

RESULTS

The cumulative rate of childbirth by age 19 was 21%, with higher rates reported between ages 17 and 19 (17%; n = 602) compared with age 17 or earlier (9%; n = 313). In logistic regression analysis, black race and Hispanic ethnicity, placement with relatives, runaway status, trial home visit placement, early emancipation from foster care, and lifetime incarceration histories were associated with increased likelihood of childbirth. In contrast, school enrollment and employment skills were associated with decreased likelihood of childbirth. The multivariate odds of childbirth between ages 17 and 19 increased 10-fold if youth already had a child by age 17.

CONCLUSIONS

Sexual health and pregnancy prevention programs should specifically target youths who already have children. Increased attention should be paid to adolescents placed with biological families and those with histories of criminal involvement.