Shedding light on attitudes towards pregnancy among Inuit adolescents from Nunavik

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample characteristics

	N	Mean ± SD or n (%)	Range	Median
Sociodemographic factors
Sample size	172
Age	172	17.74 ± 1.32	16–20	18.0
In a relationship	172	38 (22.1)
High school not completed	170	138 (81.2)
Hudson Coast	172	93 (54.1)
Working status	168	70 (41.7)
Income under $20k	125	119 (95.2)
Lifetime pregnancy	161	66 (41.0)
Pregnant in the last 12 months	161	40 (24.8)
Pregnant at the time of the survey	160	16 (10.0)
At least one child given in adoption	169	11 (6.5)
Psychosocial factors
Depressive symptoms	165	10.97 ± 4.79	2–24	10.0
Affection and intimacy, most of the time	168	117 (69.6)
Positive interactions	168	3.93 ± 0.86	1–5	4.0
Sociocultural indicators
Cultural connectedness	172	23.02 ± 2.99	15–30	23.0
Benefits of childbearing	140	23.21 ± 4.88	8–32	24.0
Behavioural factors
Three sexual partners or more	138	22 (15.9)
No use of condoms at last sexual intercourse	145	66 (45.5)
Attitudes towards pregnancy	159
Ambivalent		69 (43.4)
Unfavourable		56 (35.2)
Favourable		26 (16.4)
Indifferent		8 (5.0)

Table 2. Comparison of pregnancy likelihood attitudes on sociodemographic, psychosocial, sociocultural, and behavioural factors (n = 159)

	Pregnancy likelihood attitudes, % (n)
	Low	High	P-value
Sociodemographic factors
Sample size	35.2 (56)	64.8 (103)	NA
Age	17.68	17.80	0.59
In a relationship	17.9 (10)	25.2 (26)	0.33
High school not completed	85.5 (47)	77.5 (79)	0.16
Hudson Coast	55.4 (31)	41.7 (43)	0.07
Working status	30.9 (17)	48.0 (48)	0.03
Income under 20k	94.7 (36)	94.9 (74)	0.64
Lifetime pregnancy	35.7 (20)	43.7 (45)	0.21
Pregnancy in the last 12 months	26.8 (15)	23.3 (24)	0.38
At least one child given in adoption	36.4 (4)	63.6 (7)	0.58
Psychosocial factors
Depressive symptoms	10.25	11.41	0.14
Affection and intimacy, most of the time	74.5 (41)	66.0 (68)	0.18
Positive interactions	4.05	3.86	<0.01
Sociocultural factors
Cultural connectedness	22.54	23.12	0.24
Benefits of childbearing	21.81	23.95	0.01
Sexual behaviour factors
Three sexual partners or more	12.8 (6)	17.8 (16)	0.31
No use of condoms at last sexual intercourse	49.0 (25)	44.6 (41)	0.37

Table 3. Block model logistic regression analyses of high pregnancy likelihood attitudes (n = 159)

	Model 1
Factors
Sociocultural
Benefits of childbearing	1.10 (1.02–1.20)
Psychosocial
Depressive symptoms	1.05 (0.97–1.14)
Positive interactions	0.70 (0.45–1.09)
Sociodemographics
Hudson Coast	0.62 (0.31–1.26)
Working status	1.56 (0.74–3.27)
R^2 (p-value)	0.14 (0.04)

Note: Analysis was adjusted for lifetime pregnancy.

Characters in bold indicate significant associations at p < .05.

Table 4. Associations of individual benefits of childbearing (BOC) item with high pregnancy likelihood attitudes (n = 159)

	High pregnancy likelihood attitudes
	Odds ratio	95% CI	β (S.E.)
Model 1. Having a baby [gives]/[would give] me someone to love or [means]/[would mean] somebody will love me	1.22	0.85–1.75	0.20 (0.19)
Model 2. Having a baby [makes]/[would make] me feel important	1.36	0.93–1.99	0.31 (0.19)
Model 3. Having a baby [gives]/[would give] me more of a reason to stay away from trouble(excessive parties, drinking, drugs, etc.)	1.06	0.74–1.52	0.06 (0.18)
Model 4. Having a baby [makes]/[would make] my relationship with the other parent stronger	1.65	1.15–2.37	0.50 (0.19)
Model 5. Being a mother [is]/[would] be special; a baby is a blessing	1.08	0.69–1.69	0.08 (0.23)
Model 6. Having a baby [makes]/[would make] me feel like I fit in with other [women]/[men] of my age	1.34	0.95–1.89	0.29 (0.18)
Model 7. Having a baby [helps]/[would help] me get a house	1.45	1.02–2.10	0.37 (0.19)
Model 8. Having a baby [gives]/[would give] me a purpose in life or a role in society	1.04	0.71–1.54	0.04 (0.20)

Note. Characters in bold indicate significant associations at p < 0.05.

Note. All models were adjusted for lifetime pregnancy.