Abstract
This article examines the effect of family background factors on first premarital pregnancy resolution for adolescents in the United States. Teenage fertility constitutes a sizable percentage of total fertility, and each outcome has a potentially different type of family structure associated with it. Not only are there marked racial/ethnic differences in the ways such pregnancies are resolved, but the effects of family structure, age at first conception, family size, and working mother also differ between blacks, whites, and Hispanics. Parental education is a highly significant predictor for all groups: the higher the level of education, the less likely the pregnancy will be carried to term.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bachrach, C. (1986). “Adoption Plans, Adopted Children and Adoptive Mothers.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 243–253.
Bowerman, C. E., Irish, D. P., & Pope, H. (1966). Unwed Motherhood: Personal and Social Consequences. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, Institute for Research in Social Science.
Cobliner, W. G. (1974). “Pregnancy in the Single Adolescent Girl: The Role of Cognitive Functions.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 3, 17–29.
Cooksey, E. C. (1988). “Outcome of Adolescent First Premarital Pregnancies: The Influence of Family Back-ground.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, Dept. of Sociology.
Cooksey, E. C. (1989). “The Influence of Family Background on Resolution of Adolescent First Premarital Pregnancies in the United States,” Working Paper 89-2. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center.
Crowley, J. E., & Shapiro, D. (1982). “Aspirations and Expectations of Youth in the United States. Part 1: Education and Fertility.” Youth and Society, 13, 391–422.
Espenshade, T. J. (1985). “The Recent Decline of American Marriage: Blacks and Whites in Comparative Perspective.” In Contemporary Marriage: Comparative Perspectives on a Changing Institution, ed. K. Davies. New York: Russell Sage, pp. 53–90.
Farley, R. (1988). “After the Starting Line: Blacks and Women in an Uphill Race.” Demography, 25, 477–496.
Fine, M., Schwebel, A. I., & James-Myers, L. (1987). “Family Stability in Black Families: Values Underlying Three Different Perspectives.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 18(1), 1–24.
Hayes, C. D. (Ed.). (1987). Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Childbearing (Vol. 1). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Hofferth, S. L. (1985). “Updating Children's Life Course.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 93–115.
Hofferth, S. L., Kahn, J. R., & Baldwin, W. (1987). “Premarital Sexual Activity Among Teenage Women Over the Past Three Decades.” Family Planning Perspectives, 19(2), 46–53.
Johnson, C., & Sum, A. (1987). Declining Earnings of Young Men: Their Relation to Poverty, Teen Pregnancy, and Family Formation. Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund.
Kobrin, F. E., & Waite, L. J. (1984). “Effects of Childhood Family Structure on the Transition to Marriage.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 807–816.
Leibowitz, A., Eisen, M., & Chow, W. K. (1986). “An Economic Model of Teenage Pregnancy Decision-Making.” Demography, 23, 67–77.
Luker, K. (1984a). Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. Berkeley: University of California Press.
— (1984b). “Abortion and the Meaning of Life.” In Abortion: Understanding Differences, eds. S. Callahan & D. Callahan. New York: Plenum Press, pp. 25–45.
McHorney, C. A. (1988). “Too Young, Too Soon, Too Fast: Rapid Repeat Pregnancy Among Inner-City Adolescents.” Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Brown University, Dept. of Sociology.
Michael, R. T., & Tuma, N. B. (1985). “Entry Into Marriage and Parenthood by Young Men and Women: The Influence of Family Background.” Demography, 22, 515–544.
Mott, F. L. (1985). Evaluation of Fertility Data and Preliminary Analytical Results From the 1983 (5th Round) Survey of the National Longitudinal Survey of Work Experience of Youth. Worthington: Ohio State University, Center for Human Resource Research.
Phipps-Yonas, S. (1980). “Teenage Pregnancy and Motherhood: A Review of the Literature.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 50, 403–431.
Plotnick, R. D. (1988). “Determinants of Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, New Orleans.
Waite, L. J., Goldscheider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986). “Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults.” American Sociological Review, 51, 541–554.
Wilson, F. (1980). “Antecedents of Adolescent Pregnancy.” Journal of Biosocial Science, 12, 141–152.
Zelnick, M., & Kantner, J. F. (1980). “Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use and Pregnancy Among Metropolitan-Area Teenagers: 1971–1979.” Family Planning Perspectives, 125, 230–237.
Zelnick, M., & Shah, F. K. (1983). “First Intercourse Among Young Americans.” Family Planning Perspectives, 152, 64–70.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cooksey, E.C. Factors in the Resolution of Adolescent Premarital Pregnancies. Demography 27, 207–218 (1990). https://doi.org/10.2307/2061449
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2061449