SIDEBAR: ACROSS AGE GROUPS, UNMARRIED  BIRTHS ARE UP, MARRIED BIRTHS DOWN. WHY?

According to initial data analyses, as the birth rate of teen girls rose in the U.S from 2005 to 2006, so did that of adult women.^8,9,10,11 And while the overall birth rate for all ages of unmarried females in the U.S.—adolescents to adults—increased from 2005 to 2006, the percentage of married females giving birth steadily and dramatically dropped over the years, down from 41% in 1990 to 28% in 2006.^8,9,10,11

From 1991 to 2005, the decrease in married females giving birth was the primary contributor to the declining U.S. birth rate among teenage and older women.^6,7,8,9  In light of this reality, more research is needed to discern why, during recent years, messages of abstinence and contraception use seemingly had less influence over the sexual behaviors of their intended audience, unmarried young people, than these messages had over the behaviors of both young and older married couples—couples who, in growing numbers, are not having babies.

This information appears in Chapter 24 of Teens Sisters’ Health.

SIDEBAR: ADULT MALE IMPREGNATION--A COMMON CAUSE OF VERY YOUNG TEEN MOTHERHOOD

Research shows that adolescent girls and boys are not the sole cause of teen motherhood. In one survey of 15 to 17 year-old teen mothers, half of the girls were impregnated by 20 to 29 year-olds.²⁷ And studies indicate that the younger a girl is when she becomes pregnant, the more likely it is that an adult impregnated her.²⁷,²⁸ These disturbing findings are even more so when viewed in light of a study in which almost 4 out of 10 girls who became sexually active at ages 13 or 14 reported that their initial sexual encounter was forced upon them or unwanted,³⁵ and when one considers that, each year, over 32,000 girls and women in the U.S. become pregnant as a result of being raped.³⁶,³⁷

The phenomenon of adult males impregnating the youngest of girls is so common that the term “teen pregnancy” is misleading because it incorrectly suggests that sex between girls and boys is the only contributor to the teen birth rate or that girls’ behavior alone is”⁸ In contrast, the term “male impregnation” holds men who have sex with minors accountable for their actions and the consequences thereof and places the onus for protecting our young on adults—each one of us—not on children.⁸

This information appears in Chapter 24 of Teens Sisters’ Health.