Title: Families matter: a research synthesis of family influences on adolescent pregnancy.

POPLINE Document Number: 136293

Author(s):

Miller BC

Source citation:

Washington, D.C., National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 1998 Apr. vii, 55 p.

Abstract:

This review summarizes two decades of research about family especially parental influences on the risk of adolescent pregnancy. It draws on several previous summaries of family influences on adolescent sexual behavior or pregnancy risk and also reviews data from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. Family influences range from hereditary or biological transmission of potentially important characteristics, to the contextual and structural features of families, to the everyday practices of parenting. Although each of these domains influences the risk of adolescent pregnancy, this review focuses primarily on parent/child relations even though other adults beyond parents (especially extended family members) influence pregnancy risk for some adolescents. After a discussion of parent-child relationships, this review then addresses family contextual influences on the risk of adolescent pregnancy. The final section touches briefly on some of the important biological influences on pregnancy risks. As broad as this review of family influences may seem, it is important to acknowledge that other areas of research are omitted, such as the substantial research about the effects of race/ethnicity, religion, and differential association with peers on adolescent sexual behavior.

Keywords:

United States
Literature Review
Adolescent Pregnancy
Adolescents
Parents
Family Relationships
Risk Behavior
Sex Behavior
Developed Countries
North America
Americas
Reproductive Behavior
Fertility
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Youth
Age Factors
Population Characteristics
Family Characteristics
Family and Household
Behavior