Risk factors and life processes associated with teenage pregnancy: Resultsof a prospective study from birth to 20 years

Data gathered over the course of a 20-year longitudinal study of 533 New Ze aland women were used to (a) describe the extent and timing of pregnancies within the cohort lip to age 20, and (b) examine the extent to which the ri sk of an early pregnancy was related to a range of social background, famil y, individual, and peer relationship factors measured over the course of ch ildhood and adolescence. Results showed that by age 20, nearly a quarter of the sample had been pregnant at least once, with the majority of first pre gnancies occurring between the ages of 17 and 20 years. The profile of thos e at greatest risk of a teenage pregnancy (< 20 years) was that of an early -maturing girl with conduct problems who had been reared in a family enviro nment characterized by parental instability and maternal role models of you ng single motherhood. As young adolescents, these girls were characterized by high rates of sexual risk-taking and deviant peer involvement. Exposure to social and individual adversity during both childhood and adolescence ma de independent contributions to an individual's risk of an early pregnancy. These findings were most consistent with a life course developmental model of the etiology of teenage pregnancy. Implications for teenage pregnancy p revention are discussed.