Familial correlates of sexually active pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents.

ABSTRACT

PIP: The differences in demographic characteristics, sexual practices, perceptions of family functioning, and individual factors among pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents were studied. 124 sexually active adolescent Caucasian females aged 12-19 years from an Arkansas clinic of which 57% were pregnant, participated in a nonrandom sample in 1988-89. 62.1% were from disrupted families (39.5% divorced, 12.9% remarried, and 9.7% widowed). Family disruption was higher among the pregnant sample (72% vs. 50.8%). 16.9% of the total sample were high school dropouts, but the majority were in the pregnant sample (28% vs. 5%). 91% of the pregnant sample had a family income of $20,000 vs. 66% of the nonpregnant sample. The procedures and instruments used are described. The following questionnaires were involved: 1) a demographic questionnaire for age, race, educational and marital status, parents' marital status, and socioeconomic status; 2) a sexual history questionnaire for pregnancy status, use of birth control, prior pregnancies and outcomes, and frequency of sexual activity; and 3) the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, the Family Strengths Questionnaire, the Parent Communication Scale, and the Adolescent Self-Esteem Scale. Stepwise logistic regression and chi square tests were used to predict pregnancy status. 6 variables out of 11 were significantly related to pregnancy status: lower perception of family strengths, problems with parent communication, married, low family income, birth control, and single parent or no parent family composition. 80% of pregnant and nonpregnant teens were predicted. The mean for perception of family strengths for pregnant vs. nonpregnant adolescents was 33.29 vs. 39.87, which means for pregnant teens a perception of a lack of pride and harmony in their families. Lower scores were also evident on the Parent Communication Scale (-1.22 vs. 2.62). Although not significant, pregnant adolescents saw their families as flexible but not very cohesive and had lower self-esteem scores. Nonpregnant adolescents were more likely to use birth control than pregnant adolescents. The results support prior findings with some variation in the effect of parent and child communication, and insignificant effects of perception of family adaptability, and self-esteem. The limitations are the lack of generalizability to other regions, and the model itself which did not assess familial factors such as parental control or other developmental factors such as self-worth. Causality is not determined.