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Teen Pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy is frequently associated with problems for the adolescent parents and their children as well as more widespread social and economic consequences. RAND's research on teen pregnancy includes studies related to sex education, prevention and birth control, infant low birth weight, and educational options for teen moms, as well as groundbreaking research on the link between exposure to sexual content on television and teen pregnancy.

Journal Article
Adolescents' Contraceptive Use with School-Discordant Partners: Exploring Individual- and Relationship-Level Characteristics
Characteristics of romantic relationships and contraceptive use were examined among 1,043 female and 961 male Add Health respondents. Females (but not males) were less likely to use condom with partners not from their schools or older partners.
Jun 20, 2023
News Release
Landmark Women's Reproductive Health Survey Shows Need for Improvements in DoD Reproductive Health Care
Improvements to reproductive health care services provided by the U.S. Department of Defense would allow DoD to better meet the needs of female service members and address the high rate of unintended pregnancies among active-duty service women.
Sep 13, 2022
Journal Article
Cost Analysis of a Randomized Trial of Getting to Outcomes Implementation Support for a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Offered in Boys and Girls Clubs in Alabama and Georgia
This study estimated the cost of adding Getting To Outcomes implementation support to a teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection prevention evidence-based program called Making Proud Choices in 32 Boys and Girls Clubs in Alabama and Georgia.
Oct 13, 2021
Journal Article
A Cluster-Randomized Trial of Getting To Outcomes' Impact on Sexual Health Outcomes in Community-Based Settings
Getting to Outcomes, an implementation support intervention, can strengthen evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.
Dec 5, 2017
Journal Article
Schooling, Marriage, and Age at First Birth in Madagascar
The low school attainment, early marriage, and low age at first birth of females are major policy concerns in less developed countries. This study jointly estimated the determinants of educational attainment, marriage age, and age at first birth among females aged 12-25 in Madagascar.
Oct 31, 2016
Report
Cost Analysis of an Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program In-School Model Site
This report analyzes the costs to implement the Children's Aid Society's Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program in-school model for one year for 880 students at one school district in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Aug 30, 2016
News Release
New Tools Help Communities Deliver Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs
Many organizations do not use programs backed by research or do not implement them well even when they do. A new web-based tool can help community leaders better plan and run their pregnancy prevention programs and achieve more positive outcomes.
Aug 5, 2016
Tool
Getting to Outcomes® Guide for Teen Pregnancy Prevention
This guide is designed to help organizations assess the need for and select a teen pregnancy prevention program, identify specific goals and outcomes, create a detailed plan, identify and use evaluation measures, and apply data for program improvement.
Jul 21, 2016
Journal Article
Long-term Effect of Exposure to a Friend's Adolescent Childbirth on Fertility, Education, and Earnings
Interventions that expose adolescents to the reality of teen motherhood may be an effective way of reducing the rates of teen childbearing and improving schooling.
Jun 30, 2016
Journal Article
A Novel Test of the GTO Implementation Support Intervention in Low Resource Settings: Year 1 Findings and Challenges
Boys & Girls Club sites that used the Getting to Outcomes implementation support tool had greater capacity to run the Making Proud Choices program, but youth sexual health outcomes were no better at sites that used the tool versus those that did not.
Jun 21, 2016
Commentary
Policy Barriers to Best Practices in Women's Health
Long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods of birth control, which include the intrauterine device and subdermal implant, are highly effective, very safe, preferable to women, and cost effective. But some states' contraceptive policies create direct and indirect barriers to LARC use.
Nov 6, 2015
Blog
“Implementation Science” May Help Providers Adopt New Treatments Despite Real-World Constraints
A new field called implementation science examines how to best support providers in taking up new, research-proven treatments and implementing them well. A RAND study will test how Boys & Girls Clubs carry out a program proven to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, with and without an intervention called Getting To Outcomes®.
Feb 18, 2013
Journal Article
Understanding Pregnancy-Related Attitudes and Behaviors: A Mixed-Methods Study Homeless Youth
Effective and accessible pregnancy prevention and family planning programs for homeless youth are needed.
Dec 1, 2012
Commentary
Virginity Pledges Work for Some Teens
Essentially, the available research suggests that teaching abstinence alone to teenagers does not work — they are no more likely to delay the start of sexual activity than other teenagers. But research has not been so clear regarding virginity pledges specifically, writes Steven Martino.
Apr 1, 2009
Multimedia
Anita Chandra Discusses
Anita Chandra discusses the first study to demonstrate a link between exposure to sexual content on TV and subsequently becoming pregnant or being responsible for a pregnancy before the age of 20.
Nov 3, 2008
News Release
RAND Study Is First to Link Viewing of Sexual Content on Television to Subsequent Teen Pregnancy
Adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television programs that contain sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the following three years as their peers who watch few such shows.
Nov 3, 2008
Research Brief
Exposure to Sex on TV May Increase the Chance of Teen Pregnancy
Offers some practical implications based on the first study to demonstrate a link between exposure to sexual content on TV and subsequently becoming pregnant or being responsible for a pregnancy before the age of 20.
Nov 3, 2008
Journal Article
Does Watching Sex on Television Predict Teen Pregnancy? Findings from a National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Data from a national survey of teens were used to assess whether exposure to televised sexual content predicted subsequent pregnancy for girls or responsibility for pregnancy for boys. Exposure to televised sexual content predicted teen pregnancy.
Jan 1, 2008
Research Brief
Does Watching Sex on Television Influence Teens’ Sexual Activity?
Two recent studies led by RAND Health behavioral scientist Rebecca Collins examined the impact of TV sex on teenagers’ sexual beliefs and activities.
Jan 1, 2004
Report
The Response of the Schools to Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood: Executive Summary
Describes the response of 11 local education agencies to student pregnancy and parenthood, defines different types of programs, suggests models that might be used in other locations, and offers conclusions for policymakers on the federal, state, ...
Jan 1, 1981

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RAND Topic:
Teen Pregnancy

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