CHILD TRENDS, INC 2100 M Street. N.W.. Hbshington, D.C 20037. (202) 223-6288 TO: Individuals and Organizations Conoerned About Teenage Pregnanoy and Childbearing FROM: Kristin A. Moore, Ph.D. ) Despite oontinuing oonoern about teenage pregnanoy and parenthood in the United'States, up-to-date information and statistios for looal areas are diffioult to obtain. A oopy of the 1986 "Faots at a G1anoe" oontaining the most reoent data available for the U.S. is enolosed. A list of referenoes is avai1ab~e upon request. The 1986 Faots at a G1anoe reports that there were fewer births, pregnanoies and abortions in the U.S. in 1983 and 1984 than in earlier years. However, muoh of the apparent improvement is due to the faot that the number of teenagers has deo1ined. In 1976, there were 29.5 million youth aged 13-19. By 1986, this number had fallen to 25.1 million. However, the number of teens will begin to inorease again in the 1990s, reaohing 26.7 million in the year 2000. Moreover, muoh of the deoline in the birth rate among teens is due to inoreasing rates of abortion. Neverthe- less, small but real deolines in the rates of pregnanoy and abortion have ooourred reoent1y. Continued progress in lowering rates would augur well for future years when there will again be a larger number of ado1esoents at risk of premature parenthood. These materials have not been oopyrighted and may be reproduoed and disseminated to any persons, pUblio or private, who might benefit from the information. Related information for your own state or 100a1 area can be obtained from your state vital statistics offioe, welfare department, health department, board of education, or sooia1 servioes offioes. If this Fact Sheet has reached an inappropriate office, please forward it to the appropriate person. If you would like to have a name added to our list of those reoeiving Faots at a G1anoe, or to have a name deleted or correoted, please write to me at Child Trends. This information effort was funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation of Flint, Miohigan.
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CHILD TRENDS, INC · CHILD TRENDS, INC 2100 M Street. N.W.. Hbshington, D.C 20037. (202) 223-6288 TO: Individuals and Organizations Conoerned About Teenage Pregnanoy and Childbearing
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TO: Individuals and Organizations Conoerned About TeenagePregnanoy and Childbearing
FROM: Kristin A. Moore, Ph.D.
)
Despite oontinuing oonoern about teenage pregnanoy and parenthoodin the United'States, up-to-date information and statistios forlooal areas are diffioult to obtain. A oopy of the 1986 "Faotsat a G1anoe" oontaining the most reoent data available for theU.S. is enolosed. A list of referenoes is avai1ab~e uponrequest.
The 1986 Faots at a G1anoe reports that there were fewer births,pregnanoies and abortions in the U.S. in 1983 and 1984 than inearlier years. However, muoh of the apparent improvement is dueto the faot that the number of teenagers has deo1ined. In 1976,there were 29.5 million youth aged 13-19. By 1986, this numberhad fallen to 25.1 million. However, the number of teens willbegin to inorease again in the 1990s, reaohing 26.7 million inthe year 2000. Moreover, muoh of the deoline in the birth rateamong teens is due to inoreasing rates of abortion. Neverthe-less, small but real deolines in the rates of pregnanoy andabortion have ooourred reoent1y. Continued progress in loweringrates would augur well for future years when there will again bea larger number of ado1esoents at risk of premature parenthood.
These materials have not been oopyrighted and may be reproduoedand disseminated to any persons, pUblio or private, who mightbenefit from the information.
Related information for your own state or 100a1 area can beobtained from your state vital statistics offioe, welfaredepartment, health department, board of education, or sooia1servioes offioes.
If this Fact Sheet has reached an inappropriate office, pleaseforward it to the appropriate person. If you would like to havea name added to our list of those reoeiving Faots at a G1anoe, orto have a name deleted or correoted, please write to me at ChildTrends.
This information effort was funded by the Charles Stewart MottFoundation of Flint, Miohigan.
..
SfACTSfACTSrJAT A GLAITCI
FACTS ON BIRTHS TO U.S. TEENS".; ::. . .. ~ i r:
. -,
- In 1984, 469,682babies were born to mothers aged 15-19, 15 percent tewer thanin 1980. Most ot this decline is due to the smaller number ot U.S. teenagers.The birth rate (births per 1000 temales aged 15-19) declined oDll 4 percentbetween 1980 and 1984. Girls 14 an~ 10unger had 9,965 babies in 1984; althoughthe number declined 2"percent compared to 1980, the rate did not change.';" ".' .J, ._. ",.''0# , ~. . ... _
. .
- Despite the declining numberot births, the percent born out-ot-wedlockincreased substantially amongloung womenunder age 20. Although the proportionot births out-ot-wedlock is higher among black teens, the proportion hasincreased sharpll among white teens. In 1980, 33 percent ot white teen motherswere unmarried; in 1984, 42 percent were unmarried. In 1980, 86 percent ot blackteen mothers were unmarried; 89 percent were unmarried in 1984.
)
~ -Although the number ot babies born to mothers 14 and lounger is relativellsmall, the rate did not decline trom 1910 to 1984. Births to this age group areparticularl, problematic. In 1984, 91S were out-ot-wedlock. 11so, the babiesare more likely to be low birth weight (13.6S weighed less than 5.5 pounds,compared to 6. 9S ot the babies born to womenaged 20-24). In general, the'jounger the mother, the less the birth rate has declined, the higher. the-proportion of unmarried mothers, the greater the probability of low birth weight,the greater the likelihood the mother received no prenatal care or care oDll inthe third trimester, and the higher the proportion of mothers who have less than12 years of school. Data for 1984 (the most recent year available) are shownbelow.
-Although the birth rate has fallen faster among black teens than white teens,the birth rate among black teens cOmpared to white teens remains 1 times higheramong adolescents 14 and younger, nearly 3 times higher among teens aged 15-11,and nearly twice as high am,ongyoung women~ed 18-19.", ., :<I
~ ':;", ~.~.,.' ;.';
".. 'I.. , ,.._"..,. ",_' .'
- A quarter' of all mothers having their first child are not yet 20.' Twenty~onepercent of white tirst-borns and 4Jt percent of black tirst-borna'have teenagemothers. AmongHispanics, 3JtS of first-born children had teenage mothers, basedon data for the 23 states and D.C. that rePort birth bl' Hispanic origin.": ';'L
ABORTIONS TO TEENS AGED 15-19 . l ..- . _,', .. "'f .,' . .
. ... '.\\',The number of abortions obtained b1teens has declined as the number ofteens bas fallen. In 1982 and 1983,the abortion rate declined slightlltor the tirst time in over a decade. ........
...
Number Change Mother Low Late UnderMother's of . Birth in Rate 'Not ,.Birth or No 12 Irs.12e Births Rate 1Q70-84 Married Wei2ht Care School14 9,965 - .1.2' 'OS 91S "13 .6S .'21.0S .100S
- AD updatedestimateindicatestbat in 1985 a totalot .16.1 billion wasupended tor AFDC,Food Stamps, and Medicaid tor tamilies initiated by a birtbto a teenager. '!'bis represents more than balt ot total expenditures 'on tbeseprograms.
r , t..:
SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES
- Cbildren born to young motbers are far more likely to live witb tbeir motberonly. Amongwb!te fust-born children studied in 1981, 50 percent of those bornto a motber younger than 20 bad lived for at least some time witb only tbeirmotber by tbe time tbey turned 6, compared witb 25 percent of those born to amotber aged 20-24, and 13 percent of tbose born to a motber 25 or older. Amongblack first-borns, 89 percent of tbe children born to teen motbers, 15 percent oftbose born to motbers 20-24, and 40 percent of tbose born to older motbers hadlived only with their motber byage6.
TRENDS IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY
Tbe proportion baving premari tal sex increased among young women born after 1953,who came of age during tbe late 1960s and early 1910s. Although the degree ofincrease may have slowed, tbe proportion wbo have had sex is much higher foryoung womenborn in the early 1960s than for womenborn in the 1940s and early1950s. Amongfemales born in 1962-64, 23% had had sex by their 16tb birtbday and54% had had sex by their 18th birtbday.' .
- The proportion of U.S. teens becoming pregnant has risen over the past decadeand a half, largely because the proportion sexually experienced has beenincreasing. Considering only fEmales who are sexually experienced, theproportion who have become pregnant seems to have declined somewhat, apparentlydue to improved contraceptive use. Tbe proportion having a birth each year hasdeclined substantially, reflecting in part the lower pregnancy rate but primarilytbe increased abortion rate. . .
..AmODgall femaleS 15-19, the percent each year:\ .'
ttI.n.9%
. 1%
'." ". ~1%
. J3Z5.10%
3%6%
~" . 11%
.4%" "'"5%. :"% "
.12la" 11%
. ... 4%
~: 5%
-Becomingpregnant:
." Baving a legal abortion:H~ving a. bi.;r,th:. , ..
"
". ."..", .; - ......
Amongfemales 15-19 wbo have bad sex, tbe percent each year:
Becoming pregnant: .
Having a legal abortion:Having a birth: ,
ttI.n.26%
2J20%
J3Z5.25%
8%14%
.19.8.Q.25%
. 9%': 12%
.12la23%
. 9%
11% , .
'. :".... .,-.. ..: '., , .~ "..
Facts At A Glance 1986 Compiled by Kristin A~"Moore,'Pb~D.Charles Stewart Matt Foundation, Sponsor
Year of BirthPercent Having 1938 1941 1944 1941 1950 1953 1956 959 1962
Table11 HUllber, irtbs to U.S. Teenagers, 19811end 1980 J-,--/.,. '1'otal IlmIheP or Biptb.. 1Q81a &lid 1Q80 Peroent Changel Biptb.. to Olllll.....ied Motb8l''' Peroent Change:: .t.\.,; . 1Q81a 1Q80 1Q80 to 1Q81a 1Q8Ia 1Q80 1Q80 to 1Q81aIIotb..'s Ace: Under &sed Under &sed Under Iged Under Aged Under Aged Under Aged....J5- 11i-1Q. ....J5- 115-1Q ..1S- .1S:1.9. ..1S- .15:1L ..1S- JS::U.. ..1S-
.otelBecause peroentagea fluotuate wben nUllbers are 8IIall, the peroent abaas. i8 not caloulated if' f'MlA.. th.... n h4....._ _u,____..
Table 2: Bf ! to Mothera Under 20 Ieara ot Ase'........... '_/, of 111 TeeD' Birtha '
Births'to to UllUl'ried Teeuged , of TeeD Births to Of 111 Firat BirthaMothers Mother.. 1Q811 Ullllarried Hothera , of Teen Birtha Humberof Ilu8berof , to MotheraUDdar&p 201 UDder Asea Under Age 20 That are Seoond Birtha to Births to Under he 20
All data on births are from the National Center for HealthStatistics, Division of Vital Statistics, 3700 East-WestHighway, Hyattsville MD 20782. Data for 1984 are fromMonthly Vital Statistics Report, "Advance Report of FinalNatality Statistics, 1984, Vol. 35, No.4, Supplement,issued July 18, 1986. Data for 1980 are from MonthlY VitalStatistics Report, "Advance Report of Final NatalityStatistics, 1980," Vol. 31, No.8, Supplement, issuedNovember 30, 1982. Data for 1970 are from Monthlv VitalStatistics Report, "Final Natality Statistics, 1970," Vol.22, No. 12, Supplement, issued March 20, 1974.
. ABORTIONS
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Data on abortions are collected by the Alan GuttmacherInstitute, 111 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10003. Datafor 1983 are as yet unpublished and were provided by StanleyHenshaw. Earlier data are from Stanley Henshaw, NancyBinkin, Ellen Blaine and Jack Smith, "A Portrait of AmericanWomen Who Obtain Abortions," FamilY Planning Perspectives,Vol. 17, No.2 (March/April 1985), pages 90-95, and fromStanley Henshaw, Ed., Abortion Services in the UnitedStates, Each State and Metropolitan Area, 1979-1980, TheAlan Guttmacher Institute, New York, 1983. Data collectedby the Alan Guttmacher Institute show a higher incidence ofabortion than data reported to the federal government andare generally considered more complete. However trends inthe two data systems are very close. Recent data releasedby the Centers for Disease Control, Division of ReroductiveHealth, also show a decline in the number of abortions.This source is Centers for Disease Control, "AbortionSurveillance: Preliminary Analysis--United States,1982-1983, Atlanta, GA, issued in 1986.
WELFARE
Data on the proportion of AFDC recipients who were teenagemothers and the costs for AFDC, Medicaid, and Food Stampsfor their families are from Martha Burt, "Estimating thePublic Costs of Teenage Childbearing," ~Perspectives, Vol. 18, No. 5 (September70ctobe~
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SINGLE:~ARENT FAMILIES)
Analyses on the effects of having a young mother on theprobability of living in a single-parent family wereconducted by Child Trends researcher Christine Winquist Nordusing data from the 1981 National Health Interview SurveyChild Health Supplement. This work was supported by theNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development,Grant Number HD19380-02, and is reported in a paper entitled"Children's Experience with Family Disruption: A Review, AnUpdate, and An Extension."
TRENDS IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY
Estimates of cohort changes in age at initiation ofintercourse were conducted using data from the NationalSurvey of Family Growth and are reported in a paper bySandra Hofferth, Joan Kahn and Wendy Baldwin, "Trends inTeen Sexual Activity Over the Past Three Decades," presentedat the 1986 Meeting of the Southern Regional DemographicGroup, Baltimore, MD, October, 1986, Table 3.
TRENDS IN PREGNANCY RATES
,r)These calculations were prepared by Sandra Hofferth, Ph.D.,Center for Population Research, National Institute for ChildHealth and Human Development, National Institutes of Health,Bethesda, MD 20205.
BIRTH DATA FOR STATES AND CITIES: TABLES 1 THROUGH 3
Unpublished data for 1984 were provided by Stephanie J.Ventura, A.M., Division of Vital Statistics, National Centerfor Health Statistics, 3700 East-West Highway, Hyattsvi11e,MD 20782. Vital Statistics data for 1980 are also from theNational Center for Health Statistics. Tablulations wereconducted by Child Trends staff.
Kristin A. Moore, Ph.D.Child Trends, Inc.2100 M Street, NWWashington, DC 20037