AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Nov 30, 2006
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
AJPH.2006.089169v1
97/1/150    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (21)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Santelli, J. S.
Right arrow Articles by Singh, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Santelli, J. S.
Right arrow Articles by Singh, S.
Related Collections
Right arrow Adolescent Health
Right arrow Contraception
Right arrow Pregnancy
Right arrow Sexual Health
January 2007, Vol 97, No. 1 | American Journal of Public Health 150-156
© 2007 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.089169

RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Explaining Recent Declines in Adolescent Pregnancy in the United States: The Contribution of Abstinence and Improved Contraceptive Use

John S. Santelli, MD, MPH, Laura Duberstein Lindberg, PhD, Lawrence B. Finer, PhD and Susheela Singh, PhD

The authors are with the Guttmacher Institute, New York, NY. John S. Santelli is also with the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to John S. Santelli, MD, MPH, Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Ave, B-2, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail: js2637{at}columbia.edu).

Objectives. We explored the relative contributions of declining sexual activity and improved contraceptive use to the recent decline in adolescent pregnancy rates in the United States.

Methods. We used data from 1995 and 2002 for women 15 to 19 years of age to develop 2 indexes: the contraceptive risk index, summarizing the overall effectiveness of contraceptive use among sexually active adolescents (including nonuse), and the overall pregnancy risk index, calculated according to the contraceptive risk index score and the percentage of individuals reporting sexual activity.

Results. The contraceptive risk index declined 34% overall and 46% among adolescents aged 15 to 17 years. Improvements in contraceptive use included increases in the use of condoms, birth control pills, withdrawal, and multiple methods and a decline in nonuse. The overall pregnancy risk index declined 38%, with 86% of the decline attributable to improved contraceptive use. Among adolescents aged 15 to 17 years, 77% of the decline in pregnancy risk was attributable to improved contraceptive use.

Conclusions. The decline in US adolescent pregnancy rates appears to be following the patterns observed in other developed countries, where improved contraceptive use has been the primary determinant of declining rates.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Arch Gen PsychiatryHome page
O. Vesga-Lopez, C. Blanco, K. Keyes, M. Olfson, B. F. Grant, and D. S. Hasin
Psychiatric Disorders in Pregnant and Postpartum Women in the United States
Arch Gen Psychiatry, July 1, 2008; 65(7): 805 - 815.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 American Journal of Men's HealthHome page
L. Duberstein Lindberg, A. Sonfield, and A. Gemmill
Reassessing Adolescent Male Sexual and Reproductive Health in the United States: Research and Recommendations
American Journal of Men's Health, March 1, 2008; 2(1): 40 - 56.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
Committee on Adolescence
Contraception and Adolescents
Pediatrics, November 1, 2007; 120(5): 1135 - 1148.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BMJHome page
K. Underhill, P. Montgomery, and D. Operario
Sexual abstinence only programmes to prevent HIV infection in high income countries: systematic review
BMJ, August 4, 2007; 335(7613): 248 - 248.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Public HealthHome page
J. R. Mann and C. Stine
THE ROLES OF ABSTINENCE AND CONTRACEPTION IN DECLINING PREGNANCY RATES
Am J Public Health, June 1, 2007; 97(6): 969 - 969.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CMAJHome page
D. B. Langille
Teenage pregnancy: trends, contributing factors and the physician's role
Can. Med. Assoc. J., May 22, 2007; 176(11): 1601 - 1602.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JWatch Women's HealthHome page
Explaining the Decline in Teen Pregnancy
Journal Watch Women's Health, February 1, 2007; 2007(201): 4 - 4.
[Full Text]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the American Public Health Association