CONTEXT-The extent to which young women's risk of adolescent pregnancy is associated with having a mother who was a teenage parent, a sister who was a teenage parent or both is not known.METHODS-A sample of 127 Latina and black adolescent females completed in-depth surveys at three time points between 1994 and 2000. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine whether socioeconomic factors, mothers' parenting characteristics and certain sibling relationship qualities explain the association between a family history of teenage births and young women's risk of pregnancy. RESULTS-Comparedwith young women with no family history of teenage births, young women whose sister had had a teenage birth and those whose sister and mother both had had teenage births were significantly more likely to experience a teenage pregnancy (odds ratios, 4.8 and 5.1, respectively). Young women who had only a sister who had had a teenage birth had greater odds of pregnancy than young women who had only a mother who had had a teenage birth (4.5). Having both a mother and a sister who had had teenage births was independently associated with an elevated risk of pregnancy (3.7), even after controlling for socioeconomic and mothers' parenting characteristics. Frequent companionship with an older sister was associated with increased odds of teenage pregnancy (4.5); frequent conflict with an older sister who had had a teenage birth was marginally associated with decreased odds of the outcome (0.3). CONCLUSION-Pregnancy prevention interventions targeting young women according to maternal and sibling teenage birth histories may be effective.Considerable evidence documents that sisters of child-bearing teenagers have disproportionately high teenage pregnancy rates and birthrates. [1][2][3][4][5][6] In one study, young women whose sisters had had a teenage birth had teenage childbearing rates more than twice those of same-age females within a matched city census tract and up to five times the overall rate for their state. 1 Other studies have shown daughters of teenage mothers to be significantly more likely than young women whose mothers delayed parenting until adulthood to experience a teenage birth. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] For example, according to two studies that used nationally representative samples (one in the United States and one in Great Britain), the teenage birthrate of daughters of teenage mothers was more than twice that of daughters of women who were 20 or older at first birth. 12,13 NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptPerspect Sex Reprod Health. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2013 September 08. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptDespite the strong evidence for these trends, the incremental risk of adolescent pregnancy among young women who have both a sister and a mother who had teenage births is not known. Such young women are more likely exposed to norms for early parenthood than are women with either a mother or a sister who had teenage births. However, a mother's expe...

CONTEXT The siblings of teenage parents are known to be at very high risk of teenage pregnancy, but little is known about how an older sister’s childbearing affects a younger sibling’s risk. Understanding these influences could help address the very high rates of pregnancy and childbearing among Latino adolescents. METHODS From 2005 through 2007, a sample of 41 Mexican American 12–18-year-olds from southern California completed in-depth interviews about how an older sister’s teenage childbearing had affected them. Themes that emerged were categorized as risk factors (circumstances that increased youths’ likelihood of becoming involved in a teenage pregnancy) or protective factors (conditions that reduced this likelihood) on the basis of well-established findings in the literature. RESULTS Interview data reflected six risk factors and 11 protective factors. The most commonly reported risk factors (discussed by more than a quarter of participants) were that youths did not perceive early parenting as a hardship, had increased difficulties in school and wanted to have a baby too. The most commonly cited protective factors (mentioned by more than half) were an increased motivation to avoid early parenting, an increased appreciation of the difficulties of parenting, mothers’ explicitly discouraging early parenting and youths’ feeling of greater closeness with their mother. CONCLUSIONS Interventions that build on the protective factors that result when a youth’s older sibling has a teenage birth, while reducing the risk factors, might help families prevent younger children from becoming involved in a teenage pregnancy.

Latinos have had the highest teenage birthrate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States for the past 15 years, yet little is known about how Latino families are affected by a teenage daughter’s childbearing. In-depth interviews were conducted with 32 Mexican American younger siblings of parenting teens to discern how their sister’s childbearing had affected them and their families. The most commonly reported negative effects were increased family stress and conflict, more arguments with the parenting older sister, and less time spent with family members. Regarding benefits, all youth described a loving bond with their sister’s baby, two thirds described their family becoming closer, and 81% felt closer to their older sister. The implications of these effects for Mexican American families are discussed.