Title: The Women's Sports Foundation report: sport and teen pregnancy.

POPLINE Document Number: 134939

Author(s):

Sabo D
Miller K
Farrell M
Barnes G
Melnick M

Source citation:

East Meadow, New York, Women's Sports Foundation, 1998 May. 12, [1] p.

Abstract:

To determine the influence of athletic participation on adolescent sex behavior and pregnancy risk, this US study analyzed data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (involving 11,000 students in grades 9-12) and from the Family and Adolescent Study conducted by the New York State Research Institute on Addiction involving adolescents from 699 families. Major findings included the fact that female athletes were less likely to get pregnant, were more likely to be virgins, experienced first intercourse later in adolescence, engaged in sexual intercourse less often, and had fewer sex partners. Results for male athletes were mixed, and the only consistent pattern between athletic and nonathletic males was that athletes experienced first coitus at an earlier age than nonathletic males. Athletes of both sexes were more likely to use contraceptives than nonathletes. These results led to the following recommendations: 1) increase athletic opportunities for girls; 2) publicize these findings widely; 3) enlist the help of athletic coaches; 4) recruit elite female athletes for public education; 5) promote gender equity in athletes; 6) use sports as a tool to reach adolescent males; and 7) conduct additional research to assess the causal impacts of athletic participation on reproductive activity, evaluate the effectiveness of pregnancy prevention programs that use athletic participation as a strategy, examine how athletic participation influences gender and sexual identity, and determine the impact of economic factors.

Keywords:

United States
Recommendations
Adolescent Pregnancy
Virginity
First Intercourse
Adolescents, Female
Age Factors
Sex Behavior
Contraceptive Usage
Gender Issues
Developed Countries
North America
Americas
Reproductive Behavior
Fertility
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Behavior
Adolescents
Youth
Population Characteristics
Contraception
Family Planning