Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood

Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood
by Sandra Danziger and Naomi Farber

ERIC/CAPS Digest
1990. ED315704
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Recent Trends

Adolescent pregnancy and parenthood remain significant
issues among policy makers, service providers and members
of the American public alike. Although the birthrate among
adolescents has declined since peaking in the late 1950s,
there have been changes in adolescents' sexual behavior,
incidence of pregnancy, choices of pregnancy resolution and
rates of marriage which have altered the nature of the
phenomenon and contributed to the rising concern since the
late 1960s. These challenging issues have spawned a great
deal of research examining the causes and consequences of
these changes and a great variety of practice and policy
approaches to ameliorate and prevent adolescent pregnancy
and parenthood. 

Birthrate

Between 1977 and 1987 the actual birthrate among young
women ages 15-19 declined slightly, from 52.8 per 1000
women to 51.1. During the same time period, the birthrate
changed little among younger teens, under age 15, hovering
around 1.2 births per 1000 girls. Because the number of
teens in the population fell during the past decade, the
total number of births to teens also declined, falling from
570,000 in 1977 to 472,623 in 1987.

However, this decline in the birthrate and total numbers
of births to teens occurred in the face of greater
prevalence of sexual activity, higher rates of pregnancy,
abortion and, perhaps most significant, dramatically higher
proportions of births occurring outside of marriage.
Although the gap between teens of different races is
steadily closing, non-white teens are twice as likely as
white teens to become pregnant, with no difference by race
in the likelihood of having an abortion. Nevertheless,
because of their higher pregnancy rate, non-whites have
higher rates of both abortion and birth (Moore, 1989).

One of the more significant trends is that, while overall
birthrates have remained fairly steady, rates of marriage
among teens have plunged. Black teen mothers are much more
likely than their white counterparts to be unmarried, but
the rate of out-of-wedlock childbearing among white teens
has steadily increased. In sum, we have seen in recent
decades a dramatic change in adolescents' sexual, pregnancy
and marital choices, all of which bring about an increased
proportionof young women having early sexual intercourse,
becoming pregnant, and resolving the pregnancy either
through abortion or single motherhood.

Early Sexual Activity

More teens today report having sexual intercourse, having
it at earlier ages, and using birth control. However, the
increase in those teens having early intercourse outpaced
use of contraception, thus putting more adolescents at risk
of an unwanted pregnancy.

In general, sex among adolescents has become more
normative across contemporary American society. There is no
evidence of any particular consequences to teens being
sexually active except, of course, the risks of pregnancy
and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Although
programs designed to reduce or to delay sexual activity
remain a controversial subject of debate, programs and
policies whose goals include adolescent pregnancy
prevention have not been shown either to reduce nor to
encourage sexual activity (Newcomer, 1985).

Pregnancy Prevention

With respect to pregnancy prevention among those who have
sexual experience, the trends are mixed. Contraceptive use
rose during the 1970s, preventing even greater increase in
teen pregnancies, given how much sexual activity increased.
While there is no reported difference by race in the
likelihood that a young woman used birth control at last
intercourse, black women tend to use more effective
contraceptives like the birth control pill; however, black
teens are also more likely to use the pill erratically,
thus eliminating the contraceptive advantage. The average
time between initiation of sexual activity and first using
birth control is about one year. This lapse has been a
consistent finding since the early 1970s.

Several factors have been found to be positively
associated with teens using birth control. They include:
older age of initiation of sexual activity; stability of
the relationship with partner; knowledge of sexuality,
reproduction and contraception; higher academic
aspirations; attitude toward personal risks; greater
acceptance of one's own sexuality; and the presence of
parental supervision and support.

Underlying many of these factors is the degree of an
adolescent's cognitive development. In general, a
17-year-old is better able to comprehend the consequences
of an action and anticipate the future than is a
12-year-old. Many teens believe that they are personally
invulnerable to harm. This common developmental
characteristic (as well as other aspects of working with
adolescents) should be considered when designing pregnancy
prevention programs in both educational and health care
settings.

Several conceptual and programmatic approaches to
pregnancy prevention exist. The most common include general
encouragement for use of birth control; school-based
clinics; condom distribution; sexuality and contraception
education in and out of school; enhancing life options; and
encouraging teens to delay sexual initiation. Although
different approaches to pregnancy prevention generate
tremendous public and political debate and disagreement,
there is not adequate research evidence suggesting
which is the most effective. The National Council's Risking
the Future found that encouraging contraceptive use for
sexually active teenagers has the most empirical support
(Hayes, 1987). Evidence exists that programs which are
comprehensive in scope tend to be the most successful. In
Baltimore, a joint school and clinic-based program offered
the promise of encouraging students to be responsible in
their sexual behavior (Zabin, Hirsch, Streett, Emerson,
Smith, Hardy, & King, 1988). Some evidence does suggest
that exposure to innovative programs geared toward
pregnancy prevention, such as peer counseling/advocacy and
peer theater troupes, promotes the utilization of health
services. It is clear that no one single element can
eliminate unwanted pregnancies among teens.

Pregnancy Resolution

In recent years more pregnant teens have chosen to resolve
a pregnancy through abortion, while adoption has declined
precipitously. By far, however, the most significant change
in pregnancy resolution is the rise in births to unmarried
teens.

An early pregnancy which is unwanted, as most are to
teens, generally is a crisis not only for the young woman
but also for her family and the baby's father, and should
be treated by professionals as such (Maracek, 1987).
Brazell and Acock (1988) found that a pregnant adolescent's
choices about pregnancy resolution are influenced in part
by her own attitudes toward abortion, her perceptions of
the attitudes of parents and friends, parents' and her
ownaspirations, and by how close she is to her boyfriend.
This suggests that the process of resolving an unplanned
pregnancy should include significant individuals in the
teen's life whenever possible. A comprehensive approach
should allow the individuals to review all of the options
available, including whether to proceed with the birth,
whether to keep the baby, whether to marry, and if the girl
remains single, how to obtain financial and social support
for parenthood.

All of the choices for resolving an early pregnancy are
difficult. In 1988 the United States Surgeon General
asserted that there were no empirical grounds for either
supporting or condemning abortion based on adverse or
positive results. While state and federal policies to
encourage adoption have been implemented since the early
1980s, there is no evidence that the number of young women
who choose this option has increased (Henshaw, Kenney,
Somberg, & Van Vort, 1989).

Teenage Parents

Once teenagers become parents, they face a new set of
challenges. Teen mothers and their children are at higher
risk for many difficulties than their non-parent peers. For
example, Furstenberg, Brooks-Gunn, and Morgan (1987) found
that teenage mothers have more than their share of
out-of-wedlock births and marital upheavals, and their
children are at increased risk for school and social
failure. Teen mothers disproportionately experience
welfare-dependency and the attending problems of poverty.

However, the fate of a young man or woman is by no means
sealed upon becoming a parent. Mediating factors such as
completing education and receiving support services can
significantly improve life chances for parents and
children. Teen parents vary considerably in the amount of
support they need in order to avoid the worst consequences
of teen parenthood. For those who need assistance, programs
for teen parents are showing some success based on
longitudinal as well as more limited program evaluations.
In general, programs which offer comprehensive services
(e.g., daycare, educational support, and/or vocational
placement) are most effective.

Despite a great deal of public attention being given to
programs for teen parents and mounting evidence of their
effectiveness, the number of new young parents who
participate in these programs is very small. Access is
limited by the fact that these programs are inadequately
funded to serve all who need their services; also programs
are often not well-known in communities.

Male Involvement

In recent years, attention has shifted to include young
men in efforts to prevent pregnancy, help young parents,
and promote more responsible teen behavior. Many programs
to serve young fathers or boys at risk of parenthood have
been thwarted by the difficulty of attracting clients to
female-oriented programs. In addition, studies attempting
to identify specific characteristics of these young men
have been limited by sample selection problems, in that
many fewer boys report having been involved in pregnancy
and birth than do girls.

References

Brazzell, J. F., & Acock, A. C. (1988). Influence of
attitudes, significant others, and aspirations on how
adolescents intend to resolve a premarital pregnancy.
Journal of Marriage and the Family,, 50(2), 413-415. (EJ
378 517)

Furstenberg, F. F., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Morgan, P. (1987).
Adolescent mothers in later life. New York: Cambridge
University Press.

Hayes, C. D. (Ed.). (1987). Risking the future: Adolescent
sexuality, pregnancy, and childbearing (Vol. 1) Washington,
DC: National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council.
(ED 280 821)

Henshaw, S. K., Kenney, A. M., Somberg, D., & Van Vort, J.
(1989). Teenage pregnancy in the United States: The scope
of the problem and state responses. New York: The Alan
Guttmacher Institute.

Maracek, J. (1987). Counseling adolescents with problem
pregnancies. American Psychologist, 42(1), 89-93. (EJ 350
251)

Moore, A. (1989, September). Facts at a glance, 1989.
Washington, DC: Child Trends, Inc.

Newcomer, S. (1985). Does sexuality education make a
difference? New York: Planned Parenthood Federation of
America, Inc. (ED 269 673)

Zabin, L. S., Hirsch, M. B., Streett, R., Emerson, M. R.,
Smith, M., Hardy, J. B., & King, T. M. (1988). The
Baltimore pregnancy prevention program for urban teenagers:
How did it work? Family Planning Perspectives, 20, 182-198.

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Sandra Danziger, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Work
University of Michigan

Naomi Farber, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Work
University of Wisconsin-Madison 1990

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This publication was prepared with funding from the Office
of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of
Education, under contract no. RI88062011. The opinions
expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the
positions or policies of OERI or the Department of
Education.
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