Do Latino Youth Really Want to Get Pregnant?: Assessing Pregnancy Wantedness

Abstract

Despite recent declines, Latinas bear a disproportionate burden of teen births. Understanding social, cultural, and demographic factors underlying pregnancy desire among Latino adolescents is needed to design effective teen pregnancy prevention interventions.A questionnaire was completed by 794 Latino youth including a “pregnancy wantedness scale” (PWS) to assess attitudes toward an early pregnancy and socio-demographic variables. Regression analyses examined the association between these variables and PWS score. PWS scores for all groups were below but near the midpoint, suggesting ambivalence toward an early pregnancy. Being female, older, acculturated, using hormonal contraception, living with parents, and having an educated mother were significantly associated with lower PWS scores, but impacted youth differently depending on their sex and sexual experience. Multi-component Latino teen pregnancy prevention strategies should address behavioral and attitudinal differences based on sex and sexual experience and acknowledge the contribution of social determinants on pregnancy intentions.