African-American Adolescent Females in the Southeastern United States: Associations Among Risk Factors for Teen Pregnancy

Abstract

This study examined the associations among three external variables (Peer Substance Use Before Sex, Peer Number of Children, and Parental Influence and Substance Use Before Sex and History of Pregnancy) identified on the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey and a demographic survey, using Bandura's Social Learning Theory as an interpretive model for understanding these relationships. Participants were 276 African-American females, ages 13 to 18 years, enrolled in two public schools in the Mississippi Delta, with 14% of the sample reporting they had been pregnant. Analysis of variance found that teens with a history of pregnancy were significantly more likely to have a greater number of lifetime sexual partners. Teenagers with a history of pregnancy also were significantly more likely to report peer alcohol use before sex and peer history of pregnancy. Furthermore, their parents had diminished expectancies regarding teenage pregnancy.

KEYWORDS:

• African-American
• parental closeness
• peer substance abuse
• pregnancy
• social cognitive theory