Poor, black teen girls who think their boyfriends want a baby are 12 times more likely to wish they were pregnant compared with similar teens who expressed no desire to become pregnant, according to new research. Girls in the study who wanted to become pregnant were almost four times as likely to have a partner who was at least five years older than themselves. They were also twice as likely to report feelings of low self-esteem and low family support, and twice as likely to feel that their partner would disapprove of using condoms.
From the Center for the Advancement of Health:
Boyfriend pressure makes black teen girls more likely to want pregnancy
Poor, black teen girls who think their boyfriends want a baby are 12 times more likely to wish they were pregnant compared with similar teens who expressed no desire to become pregnant, according to new research.
Girls in the study who wanted to become pregnant were almost four times as likely to have a partner who was at least five years older than themselves. They were also twice as likely to report feelings of low self-esteem and low family support, and twice as likely to feel that their partner would disapprove of using condoms.
Each of these factors could be influenced by behavioral intervention, which may make them “important aspects to consider when designing programs to reduce the risk of pregnancy among African-American adolescent females,” say Susan L. Davies, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and colleagues.
Black teen girls examined
For the study, the researchers surveyed and interviewed 462 sexually active black teen girls between 14 and 18 years old living in low-income Birmingham neighborhoods. Forty percent of the participants had a previous pregnancy, but girls who wanted to become pregnant were less likely to report a past pregnancy.
Davies and colleagues suggest that these girls may experience a power imbalance in their sexual relationships, since their boyfriend’s age and perceived reluctance to use condoms have such a significant effect on the girls’ pregnancy wishes. This may mean that adolescent boys would be a good target for early pregnancy prevention programs, according to the researchers.
Although factors like self-esteem were not as strongly associated with pregnancy desires, “other studies suggest that early parenthood is perceived by some adolescents as an opportunity to heal childhood wounds, receive support from family members or obtain emotional closeness not found at home,” say the researchers.
The researchers acknowledge that their study does not address whether the girls’ desire to become pregnant may influence how their boyfriends think about pregnancy, or cause them to choose older sex partners.
This article isn’t racist just because it points out a statistical fact. I’m currently getting my masters degree in a scientific field and as such I have to take a research based class where all we do is analyze scientific data in quantitative and qualitative ways, and while maybe they didn’t phrase the article in the most eloquent way, conducting a research study in these terms and then reporting the findings isn’t racist just because some people don’t like the results. It would be like saying we conducted a big experiment in which we found that 1% fat milk is healthier for you than 2% milk and then being accused of hating dairy farmers that made 2% milk. The study clearly states that they interviewed a specific population and amongst that population that’s what they found. It wasn’t saying it was good or bad, it was just stating a fact. Now if some people don’t like this fact, then fair enough, I think it’s unfortunate too, but the reality states that this is a problem so rather than sit around debating whether it’s racist or not when we don’t have any proof that it is, lets work together to fix the problem at hand now that it’s been identified.
you know what anon your ass need to go some where with that bull….. idgaf what you say teen pregancy isnt on african americans teenage girls its also in white ,hispanic desent and i can keep going if you like ..so you can shut up and do something with your live .. i bet to your ass is white too.. you talking all that shit i bet you went to africa to adopted a black baby.. go check your self before you judge..
I definitely don’t agree with this topic. I know I am 13 but I am African American and I take this offensive. Black girls are not the only race that get pregnant, so these people really need to stop. It’s all races! And yeah, sometimes I do wish I was pregnant because I love babies and I wish I had my own, but I’m way to you and I need to think about my future and how things will affect me, my family, my life, and baby..so. This is a really..foul article.
African american girls may be having more children, but who said that’s a bad thing?
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nowhere in this article does it say black girls are the only ones pregnant. Nowhere in this article does it say that no other ethnicity experiences teen pregnancy. It is simply concentrating on a specific niche of teen pregnancy. There are many studies focused on just one race when it comes to social problems, because – surprisingly enough- race does play an important role in certain issues. You people spouting all this crap about this article being “racist” are retards. There are many things in this world that are focused on african americans that you idiots wouldn’t even think to call ‘racist’, but should be considered thus by the standards that you’re using for this article. What about magazines such as ‘Ebony’? I don’t consider this magazine racist because it only talks about african americans, and not other races.
First off, learn how to spell AFRICAN! It’s A-f-R-i-c-a-n. Where the hell did you get the “e” from? Stupid ass. Do you watch the news? Do you know how many Hispanic, Asian, and white teens are getting pregnant? This article is racist because you can’t zone in on one race. (for the record, there are more Latinos multiplying than anybody. They are no longer a minority in number) Second, this article is flatout wrong because it talks about income. Sarah Palin’s daughter just had a baby. I believe Bristol Palin wasn’t Black. And I believe Sarah Palin isn’t poor or even near poor. So you can’t base your information on stereotypes. Oh, and there are white-only schools, too. It wasn’t considered racist to have all white schools back in the 60s. (white people were rascist) What would you know about coming from an area like that? Absolutely nothing. P.S.- preview your shit before you post it.
HI I AMM FRUM DHA TOWN OF CONWAY S.C. .. I PERSONALLY DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS ARTICLE AND I THINK THAT IT IS HOWEVER STUPID AS HECK TO SIT HERE AND SAY DHAT BLACKS ARE THE ONLY ONES TO GO ON WITH THEIR PREGNANCY!! WHERE IM FRUM THERE IS A VARIETY OF BLACK WHITE HISPANIC OR HOWEVER YA SPELL IT HAVE BABYS…NO MATTER WHAT SITUATTION YOU ARE IN YOU SHOULD CARRY IT OUT BECAUSE ONE ITS A SIN AND TWO IF YA GROWN ENOUGH TO LAY THERE AND MAKE HIM/HER THEN YA NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THAT DANG BABY!!! SO WATT IF YA GOT MONEY YOUR WASTEING IT ON KILLIN SOMETHING SPECIAL.GROW UP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why don’t you go take two years of intensive english classes before you even think about posting anything, anywhere you retard.
What’s good im an african american from chi- town southside. Black, hispanic, asian, white all teens get pregant. Blacks isn’t the only one popping out with babes at a young age it all race. I live on the southside and imma keep it real and reall ic more black and hispanic teens pregant but thats really all ic everyday here, im up here in chicago, so what im trying to say is that im in one place im not all over the world so its really not just black out here ic alot of people of different race that are teens thats have babes cause I had a hispanic friend and she was pregant so it all race really. I sometimes think about having a baby but at the same time I think about I future my life and how it would be if I had a baby. I don’t think it would be good so that’s all I have to say about that lol.
BLACK / WHITE / HISPANIC / AND OTHERS HAVE BABES WHEN THEY ARE TEENS IIGHT JUST GET THAT THROUGH YOUR DAMN HEAD.
if any body can give me more proof on this …email me at [email protected]…i need this for my paper im writing …..thanks
Ok, I know plenty of AFRICAN AMERICAN girls and none of them have kids. I know a lot of white girls who DO have kids! Why must you only say “blacks” have more kids?!?!?! There are just as many white teen girls having kids as black teen girls!
The racial and ethnic difference differences are simple statistics. From he CDC:
“By 2002, the rates for black and Hispanic teenagers were very similar and were each more than two and one-half times the rate for non-Hispanic white teenagers.”
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/teenpreg1990-2002/teenpreg1990-2002.htm
If we want to solve this problem it’s important first to accept the facts and note where attention is most needed. And to ask why the statistics are as different as they are. Why are teen pregnancy rates so low among Asian girls for instance? What can we all emulate?
But the rates are growing among all groups. And like obesity, this social disease spreads though the culture. Those with pregnant friends are more likely to be pregnant. We all thought tolerance was they key in the ’70s, but treating teen pregnancy as acceptable has, unfortunately, made it just that.
This may mean that adolescent boys would be a good target for early pregnancy prevention programs, according to the researchers.
I agree that this article should have been more general. The moment girls get interested in guys they’re trying to please them whether that’s at 5 years old or 15. The point I believe the author was aiming at was that girls who feel lonely and unloved are more likely to want to have kids with older guys. I mean some of the girls from the poorest of families have the greatest respect for themselves and their bodies and some of the girls from wealthy six-figure homes are the ones who just want love in their life. It’s ridiculous to say that the tax bracket you’re in makes you more or less susceptible to not using protection considering that many places hand out condoms for free.
where i come from like 90% of the girls who hav babies reali young are white i mean im 17 and im quater cast .. thats closer to white and i have 2 kids to a black guy an i had my first kid when i waz 15 … now thats young and i dnt see wher u get this info from . where ever all these ” black girls” are having babies from id like to know … and us black girls do go on the internet aswell … im glad that your takin an intrest but i kno 12 year olds and KIDS that are having babies as young as 9 and none of that i know are black .. im popular ok i live in the ghetto and my babies dad is lyk the top of da chain yeah … so i know every 1 nealy … and the majority of the people who have babies younger than 16 are asin or white not black ! open your eyes man coz where i come from its a big city and basically the city of ghetto … and there are basically no white girls so come where i live an reconsider ur thoughts !
How can you say this article is racist, have you looked at our society today? There are Black only schools…. isnt that Racist? if it isnt then somthing seriously must be wrong. Maybe this study was conducted in a certain area where the majority was Aferican Americans or maybe the purpose of this article was to give insight of the area to where these teens live and why it is a problem. Just because it was focused on Aferican American does not make this a racist article. Look at all the other articles that focus on Race and gender even though it could includ all of world.
I would like to talk about boy and girl to but you to be for the
And, in case you guys didn’t know, the area where this study took place, in Birmingham Alabama, has a high population of blacks. Thus, it makes sense why the study would focus more on black teens versus other races.
Someone mentioned that not very many articles are geared towards African-Americans, and they are happy that someone took interest in African-Americans. Well, the Klu Klux Klan and skinheads also show special attention to African-Americans. Should they be flattered by that?
Also, usually, when reports are geared towards Caucasians, it is to compare them to other races, and Caucasians are portrayed more favorably even when other reports contradict the “facts” presented. That should not be overlooked.
I don’t personally believe the author of this article intended to offend African-Americans, but whether consciously or not, the whole basis for the report, I believe, is very biased. Very rarely do reports centered on African-Americans ever focus on the positive traits and actions of its subjects. This also should not be ignored.
Facts are facts, intentions are intentions, perceptions are perceptions, and opinions are opinions. What is right and true for me may not be right and true for you. Some things we have to agree to disagree on. While I may not respect everyone’s opnion, or where they’re coming from; I do respect the fact that everyone has an opnion (an presented it) whether I agree or not.
Lanikai
(“Heavenly” in English)
If you can read the following passage….
“important aspects to consider when designing programs to reduce the risk of pregnancy among African-American adolescent females,” say Susan L. Davies, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and colleagues.
…and not see how this study has identified a problem (regardless of how it fits into a wider picture) and that the resulting data will help to create better programs for African American women, then you are guilty of opression and ignorance.
Let’s stop playing the “racist” card already!
Wow.