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Relationship Characteristics and Sexual Practices of African American Adolescent Girls Who Desire Pregnancy

Center for Health Promotion, Department of Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Ralph J. DiClemente, PhD

Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Gina M. Wingood, ScD, MPH

Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Sharina D. Person, PhD

School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Richard A. Crosby, PhD

Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Kathleen F. Harrington, MPH, MAEd

School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Emily S. Dix, PhD

School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology, University of Mississippi, Oxford.

This study examined associations between African American adolescent girls’ desire to become pregnant and their sexual and relationship practices. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to detect significant associations between pregnancy desire and the assessed correlates. Of 522 participants (14 to 18 years old), 67 (12.8%) were pregnant and were thus excluded from this analysis. Of the remaining 455 adolescents, 107 (23.6%) expressed some desire to be pregnant at the time of assessment. Adolescents who desired pregnancy were significantly more likely to report having had sex with a casual partner and to use contraception inconsistently. Factors involving an adolescent girl’s relationship with her partner (e.g., being in a relationship, length of relationship, time spent with boyfriend, or satisfaction with boyfriend) were not significantly associated with the desire for pregnancy. Effective pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention programs for female adolescents should address their level of pregnancy desire.

Key Words: adolescents • sexual risk • adolescent pregnancy • adolescent relationships

Health Education & Behavior, Vol. 31, No. 4 suppl, 85S-96S (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1090198104266037


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