Contact Name
Barbara Dietsch
562-985-9488

Contact Email
bdietsc@WestEd.org

by Frank L. Mott, Ph.D.
Center for Human Resource Research
Ohio State University, Columbus

A recently published paper in Family Planning Perspectives uses data from a national sample of largely disadvantaged American youth to clarify why some youth become sexually active at very early ages and others do not, and why, when sexually active, some youth do not use contraception effectively. Most importantly, the research also examines which young boys and girls are most likely to become young parents.

The Sample

The research uses the unique longitudinal data available in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth child data base. The mothers of the youth examined in this study were interviewed annually between 1979 and 1994 on a wide range of behavioral and attitudinal topics. Since 1988, the survey has additionally asked all the children aged ten and over about their own attitudes and behaviors in a number of life domains. Beginning in 1994, which is the outcome year for the analysis described in this research, all youth aged 15 years and over completed a confidential interview, as well as a lengthy face to face interview about a full range of experiences. This research focuses on the responses of about 950 youth ages 14 to 18 in 1994. They represent a national sample of youth drawn disproportionately from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as they were largely born to adolescent mothers.

Slightly over half (54%) of the boys and girls have had sex as of the 1994 survey date. Of those reporting sexual activity, slightly over two thirds had ever used contraception, (72% of girls and 66% of boys). Also, of those who have been sexually active, 3% of the boys and 11% of the girls acknowledge parenthood. Even though this is a largely disadvantaged population, it is quite heterogeneous, with a behavioral profile suggestive of a multiplicity of backgrounds.

From an attitudinal perspective, the boys in the sample are less reticent than the girls regarding "taking risks", are somewhat more traditional in what they view as appropriate roles for women, and are more likely to feel that "planning takes the fun out of things". The young women are somewhat more likely to indicate that they "feel depressed at times". Behaviorally, the young men more frequently use alcohol, and are slightly more likely to have ever used marijuana.

Results

The primary objective of the research was to clarify whether the individual behavioral and attitudinal attributes of the youth systematically predicted early sexual activity, the likelihood of using contraception, and early parenthood. Could a variety of recent or contemporaneous behaviors or attitudes be closely linked with these sex-related outcomes independent of a full range of family priors, such as earlier maternal traits, or family socioeconomic characteristics? In particular, do behaviorally similar boys and girls exhibit parallel or different outcomes? The researchers hypothesized that young men who evidenced more socially inappropriate behaviors would differ in some - but not all - ways from their female counterparts. For all youth, being a risk taker was expected to be associated with early sexual activity. However, for girls only, it was anticipated that early sexual activity would be associated with a tendency toward being depressed and perhaps having a weaker ego. The results supported these a priori speculations. While the effects were modest, there was also a suggestion that sexually active boys were less likely than non-sexually active boys to feel that "they were a failure" and that they had more control over their environment. These findings are consistent with traditional notions of why boys and girls become sexually active at young ages.

The research also found, as have others, that both boys and girls who used alcohol or marijuana, who had peers using these substances, or who had problems because of their substance use were substantially more likely to be sexually active. On a positive note, there also was evidence that girls involved in pro-social volunteer activities were less likely to become sexually active. Whether this reflects the influence of the activities themselves, or simply the possibility that youth involved in pro-social activities have other characteristics that would cause them to delay sexual activity cannot be determined by this research.

For sexually active youth, there is less systematic evidence regarding what predicts using contraception, but statistically relevant factors offer food for thought. For boys and girls, not using contraception is associated with above average levels of depression. Thus, far from being random youthful carelessness, the suggestion is that there is at least this one psychologically based connection that warrants further consideration. For boys only, not using contraception is strongly linked with having more traditional notions regarding the role of women in society. Finally, girls but not boys who do not use contraception are likely to drink more frequently, have peers who drink more frequently, and are more likely to feel they are a failure. All of these factors, taken together, may suggest that a generalized sense of lack of worth among young women may contribute to an apparent, perhaps subconscious, lack of concern about the future. This may not be so much a conscious playing out of a failure syndrome as a more subtle willingness to let the chips fall where they may, because nothing much makes a difference anyway.

In a final section, the research considers how the same set of attitudinal and behavioral correlates may translate into actual fertility behavior. The results indicate that both young mothers and fathers are more likely then their childless counterparts to verbalize levels of depression slightly above average. Young mothers (but not fathers) are more likely to feel they are a failure, have low self esteem, and to feel a lack of control over their environment. In contrast, young fathers feel they do have control over theirs!

Behaviorally, the evidence is more positive. Young mothers are less likely to drink or to hang out with youth who drink. Programs underway to highlight the risks of drinking to young pregnant women may be having an effect. Motherhood may also have caused them to alter their peer reference groups. In general, there is evidence that young mothers now have less time, and perhaps opportunity, to be involved in volunteer activities of all kinds; in contrast, the young fathers now evidence a significant increase in their involvement in pro-social activities, which may bode well for their future.

Whether the limited positive signals suggested by the results bode well for future behavior remains to be seen. It is also useful to note that whereas early sexual activity was associated with positive feelings for young men, having a child was linked with slightly elevated levels of depression. Also, young fathers were above average in their likelihood of volunteering for positive activities. This, in a modest way, may be a precursor of changing behaviors in the fertility sphere.

Source: Lori Kowaleski-Jones and Frank L. Mott. Sex, Contraception and Childbearing Among High-Risk Youth: Do Different Factors Influence Males and Females? in Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 30 Number 4, July/August 1998.