Adolescent Birth Intentions, Social Disadvantage, and Behavioral Outcomes

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between birth intentions and outcomes among adolescents in the US. Data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience of Youth among 3070 never-married female adolescents without children in 1979. These adolescents were followed for 5 years through 1984 in order to examine nonmarital and adolescent birth outcomes. Birth intentions include expectations about bearing a child before the age of 20 years and expectations about nonmarital childbearing in the 5-year period. Independent variables include race ethnicity poverty status and family structure and controls for respondent characteristics family characteristics and context. Findings indicate that African American adolescents had greater expectations of adolescent births and nonmarital births. Adolescents from poverty backgrounds were more likely to expect early and nonmarital births. Adolescents from two parent families were less likely to expect early and nonmarital births and to experience a nonmarital birth early or later. Women with expectations of early or nonmarital births were more likely to later experience an early or nonmarital birth. Multivariate analysis reveals that expectation of an early or nonmarital birth significantly increased the odds of having an early or nonmarital birth. The effects were not large. Women who expected an early birth were 1.7 times more likely to experience that event. Women who expected a nonmarital birth were 1.5 times more likely to experience that event. African Americans were 3.4 times more likely as Whites to have a nonmarital adolescent birth and 4.6 times more likely to have a nonmarital birth. Women from poor families were 2 times as likely to have an early or nonmarital birth. Disadvantaged social position increased the risk.