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School achievement: risk factor in teenage pregnancies?

H Hansen, G Stroh and K Whitaker

A review of live births, spontaneous fetal deaths, and induced abortions in residents of Upstate New York ages 12--17 shows that pregnancy rates increased during the period 1971 through 1974. This increase was attributable to pregnancies ending in induced abortion while live births remained relatively stable. White teenagers had a higher frequency of induced abortions than non-white teenagers, but induced abortions increased more rapidly among non-whites over the four-year period. School achievement as reflected by highest grade completed at the end of pregnancy was related to risk of pregnancy as well as to election of induced abortions. The distribution of pregnancies by age and school grade suggests that an increased risk of pregnancy is associated with below average but also, and unexpectedly, with above average grade attainment. Incongruity of age and school achievement may identify groups of teenage schoolgirls with special needs for preventive programs.