Black Teenagers Research Articles

Sexual standards and activity: Adolescents' perceptions

This paper reports on findings from in-depth interviews with a small sample of white and black teenage mothers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds about their sexual standards and their feelings about their sexual initiation and subsequent sexual activity. The comparisons across race and across class suggest that there are significant differences across classes among black teens in standards about and personal evaluation of their sexual activity while no class difference among white teens are evident.

294 Outcome in Repeat Pregnancies Among Black and White Teenagers

294 Outcome in Repeat Pregnancies Among Black and White Teenagers

Black Teenage Pregnancy: An African Perspective

ABSTRACT Black teenage pregnancy in South Africa and the rest of Africa is discussed. Problems of family disorganization are examined. An increasing number of, female-headed single parent families; out-of-wedlock children; unwanted and abandoned babies; street children; adolescents with sexuality transmitted disease and teenage pregnancies attest to this. Particular reference is made to a research study by Boult and Cunningham (1991) of Black Teenage Pregnancy in Port Elizabeth. The study demonstrates that teenage pregnancy is associated with disorganized family structure; disregard of traditional cultural norms; low education; lack of knowledge and use of contraception and, a correlation between age at onset of menarche and onset of sexual activity. It is associated with a negative response to the pregnancy from the teenager, her sexual partner and her family. There is a lack of realistic planning on her and her child's behalf. Recommendations to prevent further deterioration of quality of life for ‘chil...

A comparison of pregnant Hispanic adolescents ≤ 17 years old with those of black and anglo ethnicity

To determine if the prepregnancy characteristics, pregnancy course, and outcome of Hispanic adolescents differed from their black and Anglo peers, we retrospectively reviewed the pregnancies of all adolescents ≤ 17 years old who delivered in 1985–86 at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The sample of 1,080 teenagers included 254 (23.5%) Hispanics, 329 (30.5%) blacks, and 497 (46%) Anglos. Hispanic adolescents differed from their peers at the onset of pregnancy in that they were more likely to be married, less educated, and physically shorter. Similarities among adolescents of all three ethnicities included number of clinic visits, mean gestational age when care began, mean weight gain in pregnancy, mean 1-minute Apgar scores, and the percentage of preterm deliveries, cesarean sections, and stillboms. Infants born to black teenagers had significantly lower birth weights than Hispanics and Anglos, although the incidence of preterm births for black infants was lower in our sample than for infants of other black adolescents ≤ 17 years in our geographic region. The incidence of low birthweight (LBW) infants was higher among Hispanic teenagers in our sample than that reported for teenagers of Mexican origin. Attention should be focused on factors that may explain the ethnic differences among pregnant teenagers, such as the effect of acculturation, analysis of dietary intake based on cultural preferences and family and environmental factors, sociocultural factors influencing decisions about marital status, educational achievement, and motherhood. An urgent need in this population is for pregnancy prevention, particularly among the very young Hispanic and black adolescents.

Fear of Contraceptives, Wish for Closer Relationship are Major Reasons Teenagers Delay Visiting Clinic

Researchers compared data on black female teenagers who had attended family planning clinics in 8 US cities with 1982 and 1984 data on black females from a school based pregnancy prevention program study in Baltimore Maryland. All the subjects were sexually active. 14% of the clinic group and at baseline 19% of those who had never been to a clinic and 13% of those who had been listed fear of contraceptives as the main reason for delay of visiting a clinic. It was a contributing reason for 34% 45% and 35% respectively. 2 years later the figures fell to 13% for those student clinic attenders and 11% for those who had not been to a clinic. The corresponding figures were 23% and 31%. Yet 2 years later 29% still had not gone to a clinic. Another major reason for delay was waiting for the relationship to become closer (primary reason: 9% of clinic patients 14% of student clinic attenders 10% of those who had attended a clinic; contributing reason: 26% 34% and 27% respectively). After 2 years the figures were 23% for student clinic attenders and 11% for those who had not been to a clinic. Fear that parents would learn of their sexual activity constituted the 3rd leading reason. 9% of clinic patients claimed this fear as their primary reason while 28% claimed it as a contributing reason. Furthermore 35% of patients who suspected pregnancy stated fear of parents as a reason for delay while only 22% of those who sought contraception did so. In the Baltimore group at baseline students who did not go to a clinic were 2 times as likely to state fear of parents as a reason than those who attended a clinic. At follow up 20% of students who had not yet gone to a clinic gave fear of parents as the primary reason for delay and 34% gave it as a contributing reason. In conclusion beliefs attitudes and perception remained barriers to contraceptive use.

Black Teenage Mothers: Pregnancy and Child Rearing from Their Perspective

Black Teenage Mothers: Pregnancy and Child Rearing from Their Perspective. Constance Willard Williams. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1991. 208 pp. $24.95. This book describes the results of an ethnographic, interview study of 30 black teenage mothers in the Boston area. The author's primary goal was to understand the meaning of births to black adolescent mothers in the context of their cultural and personal circumstances. The book successfully makes two interrelated contributions to the literature: (a) it explores what teenage mothers themselves (and not others) think and feel about their experiences, and (b) it takes an adaptive perspective on adolescent pregnancy and childrearing that does not assume that such behavior represents maladaptive or acting-out behavior.

Sociodemographic distribution of gonorrhea incidence: implications for prevention and behavioral research.

Despite a declining incidence during the AIDS era, gonorrhea remains the most frequently reported communicable disease in the United States. During 1986 and 1987 we supplemented gonorrhea case reporting with laboratory surveillance in King County, Washington. Incidence rates were correlated with demographic variables. Overall incidence of gonorrhea was similar for men and women, but highest for 16- to 21-year-old females and urban Seattle residents. Incidence rates by ethnicity were Blacks, 3033; Native Americans, 843; Hispanics, 617; Asians, 190; and Whites, 121. Census tracts representing the lowest socioeconomic status (SES) quartile accounted for 58% of reported gonorrhea. Black female teenagers residing in the lowest SES urban areas had highest incidence rates: aged 14 to 15, 3.4%; 16 to 17, 10.4%; 18, 17.0%; and 19, 15.4%. Rates in female teenagers were even higher after adjustment for estimated proportion of those who were sexually experienced. Gonorrhea incidence is associated with age, gender, ethnicity, SES, and residence. Identification of populations at highest risk for gonorrhea can direct interventions against all sexually transmitted diseases. Clearly, interventions to alter high-risk behaviors must be initiated in early adolescence.

Levels of Sexual Activity Among Adolescent Males in the United States

Although three-fifths of adolescent males aged 15-19 say they have had sexual intercourse, analyses of data from the 1988 National Survey of Adolescent Males indicate that their level of sexual activity is relatively moderate. The data show that among sexually experienced young men the mean number of partners in the last 12 months is 1.9, and the mean frequency of intercourse in the last four weeks is 2.7 times. Black males have had more partners than white or Hispanic males; however, after the number of years since first intercourse are controlled for, these differences disappear. On average, sexually experienced youth spent six out of the last 12 months with no sexual partner, and only 21 percent of sexually active males had more than one partner in any month in the last year. Comparisons with 1979 data suggest that proportionately more adolescents were sexually experienced in 1988, but fewer non-black males had first intercourse before their 15th birthday. The number of partners since first intercourse and in the past four weeks appears to have decreased, as has the frequency of intercourse in the last four weeks.

Tailoring Family Planning Services to the Special Needs of Adolescents

Experimental service protocols tailored to the needs of teenage family planning patients were developed that emphasized indepth counseling, education geared to an adolescent's level of development, and the provision of reassurance and social support. These protocols were tested against usual service delivery practices in a study involving 1,261 patients under 18 years of age at six nonmetropolitan family planning clinics. A comparison with teenagers obtaining services at control sites found that six months after their first clinic visit, patients at the experimental sites were more likely to be using a method, were less likely to experience difficulty in dealing with problems, were more likely to continue using their method despite problems and had learned more during the educational session. Teenage patients at the experimental clinics were also less likely to have become pregnant within one year than those who went to control clinics. Attrition during the year following the first study visit was similar among both groups; patient satisfaction was very high, and equivalent at experimental and control sites. The data show that the extra time and effort required to meet the special needs of teenagers is justified by their improved contraceptive use, greater knowledge and lower pregnancy rates.

Obstetric Complications in Young Teenagers

We compared pregnancy outcome in 286 teenaged primigravidas (less than or equal to 16 years old) and 267 adult primigravidas (21 to 25 years old) who had similar prenatal care, socioeconomic status, and racial balance. The incidence of preterm labor and delivery of a low birthweight infant was significantly higher in the teenagers. The incidence of preeclampsia was significantly higher in the adults. Cesarean delivery was not done more frequently in teenagers, nor was there a higher incidence of infants small for gestational age, anemia, and abnormal presentation in labor. The birthweight of infants of black teenagers was significantly lower than the birthweight of those of white teenagers, and overall birthweight was significantly lower in infants of teenagers than those of adults. Although prenatal care, socioeconomic factors, and racial balance were comparable for young teenagers and adults, teenagers were still at a significantly greater risk for delivery of smaller infants, preterm labor, and low birthweight infants.

Black teenage pregnancy in Port Elizabeth

Few research studies have been conducted in South Africa into the incidence of, and possible social and medical factors associated with, black teenage pregnancy. The research described in this paper was prompted by the need to contribute to the limited amount of sociological research into the phenomenon.

Welfare benefits, economic opportunities, and out-of-wedlock births among black teenage girls

This article presents a model of teenage out-of-wedlock births that incorporates the effects of both welfare and nonwelfare economic opportunities. We construct measures of the likely "medium-run" income available to a teenage girl in the event of an out-of-wedlock birth and in the absence of a birth and then estimate a logit model to determine their importance in influencing fertility behavior. The model is estimated with data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics on nearly 900 black teenagers. We find weak and statistically insignificant positive effects of Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) benefit levels and stronger and significant negative effects of economic opportunities on the probability of AFDC-related out-of-wedlock teen births.

Welfare and Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing: Evidence from the 1980s

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was used to show evidence on the link between adolescent out-of-wedlock childbearing (OOWC) and welfare in the period from 1979 to 1984. State data on welfare policy supplements this. This studys sample includes girls aged 14 or 15 in 1979 who reported never being married and never having a child. The sample size is 1184. This includes 311 Blacks 220 Hispanics and 653 Whites. Logit cross section and discrete time hazard models are estimated for Hispanics Blacks and Whites. 5 indicators of state welfare policy are used: 1) Aid to Families of Dependent Children (AFDC); 2) eligibility index; 3) the presence of AFDC-Unemployed Parent (UP) Program; 4) AFDC pregnancy benefits; and 5) recipient requirements. For Hispanics none of the 5 welfare variables is significant. For Black the index of eligibility stringency and the dummy variable for the presence of the AFDC-UP Program are significant. For Whites the welfare guarantee and the requirements index are significant in positive directions. The Hispanic hazard models are similar to the Hispanic logit models except that eligibility index is significant and positive- -contrary to expectation. For Blacks the eligibility index is significant in the expected negative direction in the hazard model through the size of the coefficient is smaller. The AFDC-UP dummy is not significant any longer. For Whites the hazard model without contextual variables matches the logit model in effects of the guarantee and the requirements index. When contextual variables are included the guarantee remains significant but the requirements index doesnt. In the logit models the opposite holds. All 3 hazard models yield a positive coefficient on the pregnancy index. Coefficients on family background variables for the logit models are shown. The results in the other logit models and the hazard models were alike. Mothers education is a significant determinant of OOWC only for Whites. For all groups religiosity is insignificant. These findings show that welfare policy was related to OOWC by Black and White teenagers during the early 1980s. (authors modified)

Risk of Sexually Transmitted Disease Among Black Adolescent Crack Users in Oakland and San Francisco, Calif

Crack cocaine is a smokable form of cocaine hydrochloride that has been associated with increases in admissions to drug treatment programs, and, recently, increases in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among black teenagers. In an exploratory, cross-sectional study of the prevalence of risk behaviors that would promote the dissemination of STDs (including human immunodeficiency virus) among 222 black teenaged crack users, 41% of those interviewed reported a history of an STD. A history of an STD was more likely to be reported by girls (55%) than by boys (34%) and by those who combined crack use with sexual relations (51%) than those who did not (32%). The number of risk behaviors for STDs or human immunodeficiency virus reported by respondents (including failure to use a condom in one's most recent sexual encounter, having had a history of an STD, engaging in exchanges of sex for drugs or money, combining sexual activity with drug use, and reporting five or more sexual partners per year) was evaluated using multiple regression analysis stratified by gender. For girls, a history of selling crack and the number of reported risk behaviors (R = .46); for boys who chose the description "I don't know ahead of time if I'm going to have sex--it just happens" and the number of drugs used on a daily basis were associated with the number of reported risk behaviors (R = .31). Because of the impetuous nature of some crack-related sexual activity and because 76% of respondents acknowledged that they were either "very worried" or "somewhat worried" that they might get acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, it is possible that a program of widespread distribution of condoms in neighborhoods where crack use is prevalent might make it possible for the worried, impulsive crack user to practice "safer sex."

Risk of sexually transmitted disease among black adolescent crack users in Oakland and San Francisco, Calif

Crack cocaine is a smokable form of cocaine hydrochloride that has been associated with increases in crime, increases in admissions to drug treatment programs, and, recently, increases in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among black teenagers. In an exploratory, cross-sectional study of the prevalence of risk behaviors that would promote the dissemination of STDs (including human immunodeficiency virus) among 222 black teenaged crack users, 41% of those interviewed reported a history of an STD. A history of an STD was more likely to be reported by girls (55%) than by boys (34%) and by those who combined crack use with sexual relations (51%) than those who did not (32%). The number of risk behaviors for STDs or human immunodeficiency virus reported by respondents (including failure to use a condom in one's most recent sexual encounter, having had a history of an STD, engaging in exchanges of sex for drugs or money, combining sexual activity with drug use, and reporting five or more sexual partners per year) was evaluated using multiple regression analysis stratified by gender. For girls, a history of selling crack and the number of drugs used on a daily basis were associated with the number of reported risk behaviors (<i>R</i>=.46); for boys who chose the description "I don't know ahead of time if I'm going to have sex—it just happens" and the number of drugs used on a daily basis were associated with the number of reported risk behaviors (<i>R</i>=.31). Because of the impetuous nature of some crack-related sexual activity and because 76% of respondents acknowledged that they were either "very worried" or "somewhat worried" that they might get acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, it is possible that a program of widespread distribution of condoms in neighborhoods where crack use is prevalent might make it possible for the worried, impulsive crack user to practice "safer sex." (<i>JAMA</i>. 1990;263:851-855)

The Significance of Race and Class in Marital Decisions among Unmarried Adolescent Mothers

Marriages of adolescents to legitimize births has declined dramatically in the United States among black and white teenagers in recent years. This paper reports on a qualitative study of why black and white teenage mothers from middle-class, working-class, and lower-class backgrounds remained unmarried after becoming pregnant. The paper discusses in what ways the teens' reasons for single motherhood vary by their class and race. The study suggests that, while many of these reasons are more closely associated with a teen's class than race, particularly among the non-disadvantaged young women, there are also differences across race that indicate a complex relationship between class and race in adolescents' marital choices.

The Effect of Residential Location on the Probability of Black and White Teenagers Having a Job

The evidence presented here suggests that residential location has a strong impact on both white and black youth job probability. These results were obtained by estimating a multinomial logit model, which recognizes the joint endogeneity of employment and school enrollment, with data from the Chicago metropolitan area. Furthermore, according to our results, at a minimum, about a fifth of the black/white employment rate differential among Chicago’s youth can be attributed to residential segregation.

Early Sexual Activity among Adolescents in Small Towns and Rural Areas: Race and Gender Patterns

A 1987 survey of 758 eighth-grade students from three rural counties in Maryland revealed that 61 percent of males and 47 percent of females have engaged in sexual intercourse, and that 77 percent of black students and 40 percent of whites have ever had intercourse. A logistic regression analyzing the effects of race and gender shows that the odds that young black teenagers would have had intercourse are over five times those for whites, and that the odds for males are about twice those for females. The introduction of developmental, individual, academic and behavioral factors into the regression model has little effect on these odds ratios. Separate logistic analyses of four subgroups--white males, white females, black males and black females--reveal no consistent associations between sexual activity and the factors examined. For example, such types of problem behavior as cigarette smoking and use of alcohol or certain other drugs are associated with the likelihood of sexual activity, but the specific type of behavior involved differs by subgroup: Cigarette smoking is related to an increased likelihood of sexual activity just among white females, while alcohol consumption is associated with sexual experience among black females and white males only. Use of drugs other than marijuana or alcohol is linked to a 5-9 times greater risk of sexual activity among whites, but not to any significantly increased risk among blacks, whereas living in a town (rather than in the country) is significantly associated with the likelihood of sexual intercourse among both white and black males, but not among females of either race.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

An illustration of survival analysis: Factors affecting contraceptive discontinuation among American teenagers

This article describes the methodology of survival analysis which can be used to examine data in which the dependent variable consists of lengths of time between a specific starting and an ending point. These lengths of time are called survival times. To illustrate this method the authors analyze the duration of oral contraceptive use among sexually active black and white teenage women. The starting point here is the reported time that the pill was 1st used and the end point is 1st discontinuation of the pill. (authors)

Black Child Care Practices in the Midwest

A recent incident involving a shocked first-year pediatric resident who observed a black teenage mother chewing part of a tuna sandwich and feeding the resultant "mush" to her 8-month-old infant stimulated us to look for documentation of various child-rearing practices that were familiar to us from our work with mothers of various ethnic groups. There is ample literature describing cultural beliefs about disease causation and cure; however, we could find little that described day-to-day parenting behaviors. We surveyed 68 black child care providers in Omaha, concerning their knowledge and use of child-rearing practices for infants (Table). METHODS A questionnaire approved by the University of Nebraska Medical Center Institutional Review Board was administered nonrandomly to black care givers by personnel in our pediatric clinics or by public health nurses during home visits.