First births among unmarried adolescent girls: Risk and protective factors

In this longitudinal investigation, the authors drew on cumulative risk the ories to provide new evidence about the effects of sociodemographic risk fa ctors for adolescent nonmarital childbearing among 958 girls in a nationall y representative sample. The effect of a cumulative risk index was highly s ignificant-adolescent girls who experienced five or more sociodemographic r isk factors were 16 times more likely than their counterparts with only one risk factor to experience a nonmarital childbirth during the teenage years . The authors also examined the role of hypothesized protective factors-inc luding high self-esteem, high basic skills, and high educational expectatio ns-in interaction with the cumulative risk index. Findings suggest that und er similar levels of sociodemographic risk, adolescent girls with high educ ational expectations are less likely to experience a nonmarital birth. Howe ver, the buffering effects of high educational expectations account for com paratively less than cumulative risk effects on nonmarital childbearing dur ing adolescence.