Pregnancy Risk among Black, White, and Hispanic Teen Girls in New York City Public Schools

Abstract

Disparities in teen pregnancy rates are explained by different rates of sexual activity and contraceptive use. Identifying other components of risk such as race/ ethnicity and neighborhood can inform strategies for teen pregnancy prevention. Data from the 2005 and 2007 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were used to model demographic differences in odds of recent sexual activity and birth control use among black, white, and Hispanic public high school girls. Overall pregnancy risk was calculated using pregnancy risk index (PRI) methodology, which estimates probability of pregnancy based on current sexual activity and birth control method at last intercourse. Factors of race/ethnicity, grade level, age, borough, and school neighborhood were assessed. Whites reported lower rates of current sexual activity (23.4%) than blacks (35.4%) or Hispanics (32.7%), and had lower predicted pregnancy risk (PRI= 5.4% vs. 9.0% and 10.5%, respectively). Among sexually active females, hormonal contraception use rates were low in all groups (11.6% among whites, 7.8% among blacks, and 7.5% among Hispanics). Compared to white teens, much of the difference in PRI was attributable to poorer contraceptive use (19% among blacks and 50% among Hispanics). Significant differences in contraceptive use were also observed by school neighborhood after adjusting for age group and race/ethnicity. Interventions to reduce teen pregnancy among diverse populations should include messages promoting delayed sexual activity, condom use and use of highly effective birth control methods. Access to long-acting contraceptive methods must be expanded for all sexually active high school students.

Do State-Based Policies Have an Impact on Teen Birth Rates and Teen Abortion Rates in the United States?

“…Again, we do not believe that the skin color or ethnic background predisposes to having an abortion as a teen but rather that it reflects other variables not accounted for in the analysis, as described in other studies. 48,49 Republican political affiliation was found to be associated with lower teen abortion rates as well, potentially for the same reasons as mentioned earlier. It is interesting to note that in the univariate analysis, higher Christian adherence was found to be associated with lower abortion rates but that this effect disappeared in the multivariate analysis.…”

Examining the Role of the Pediatric Emergency Department in Reducing Unintended Adolescent Pregnancy

“…Based on a previously developed and validated measure, 24–26 we calculated the Pregnancy Risk Index (PRI) for each study participant to estimate the annual risk of becoming pregnant based upon: (1) recent sexual activity (vaginal-penile sexual intercourse within the last 3 months), (2) contraceptive method(s) used at last sexual intercourse, and (3) method-specific contraceptive failure rates (CFRs). Nonuse of contraception was assigned a CFR of 85, the 1 year risk of pregnancy with no contraception.…”

Migration Load, Ecological Opportunity, and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Etiology: Obsessive Character as an Adaptation to Seasonality

“…Foreshortened future orientation can be observed behaviorally and statistically from planning a birth to preparing for death. African-American and Hispanic American teens are more likely than Caucasian Americans to be sexually active, but less likely to use contraceptives (Waddell et al 2010) with teenaged pregnancy rates falling out on these same lines (Roxas 2008). Additionally, the higher proportional estimates of impulsivity, arrests (Fite et al 2009), criminality (Petersilia 1983), incarceration (Brewer et al 2014), and recidivism (Harer 1995;Harer and Steffensmeier 1996) among African-Americans and Hispanic Americans, as compared to Caucasian Americans, might also be taken as evidence of an evolved disposition towards foreshortened future orientation, especially since proportional excess of crime among those of African descent is recapitulated in other predominately Caucasian countries such as England and Canada (Rushton 1999).…”