Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Jan;97(1):150-6.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.089169. Epub 2006 Nov 30.

Explaining recent declines in adolescent pregnancy in the United States: the contribution of abstinence and improved contraceptive use

John S Santelli  1 , Laura Duberstein Lindberg, Lawrence B Finer, Susheela Singh
Affiliations

Explaining recent declines in adolescent pregnancy in the United States: the contribution of abstinence and improved contraceptive use

John S Santelli et al. Am J Public Health. 2007 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: We explored the relative contributions of declining sexual activity and improved contraceptive use to the recent decline in adolescent pregnancy rates in the United States.

Methods: We used data from 1995 and 2002 for women 15 to 19 years of age to develop 2 indexes: the contraceptive risk index, summarizing the overall effectiveness of contraceptive use among sexually active adolescents (including nonuse), and the overall pregnancy risk index, calculated according to the contraceptive risk index score and the percentage of individuals reporting sexual activity.

Results: The contraceptive risk index declined 34% overall and 46% among adolescents aged 15 to 17 years. Improvements in contraceptive use included increases in the use of condoms, birth control pills, withdrawal, and multiple methods and a decline in nonuse. The overall pregnancy risk index declined 38%, with 86% of the decline attributable to improved contraceptive use. Among adolescents aged 15 to 17 years, 77% of the decline in pregnancy risk was attributable to improved contraceptive use.

Conclusions: The decline in US adolescent pregnancy rates appears to be following the patterns observed in other developed countries, where improved contraceptive use has been the primary determinant of declining rates.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Teitler JO. Trends in youth sexual initiation and fertility in developed countries: 1960–1995. Ann Am Acad Political Sci. 2002;580:134–152.
    1. Singh S, Darroch JE. Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing: levels and trends in developed countries. Fam Plann Perspect. 2000;32:14–23. - PubMed
    1. Ventura SJ, Abma JC, Mosher WD, Henshaw S. Estimated pregnancy rates for the United States, 1990–2000: an update. Natl Vital Stat Rep. June 15, 2004;52(23). - PubMed
    1. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ, Menacker F, Munson ML. Births: final data for 2003. Natl Vital Stat Rep. September 8, 2005;54(2). - PubMed
    1. Sandfort T, Hubert M, Bajos N, Bos H. Sexual behavior and HIV risk: common patterns and differences between European countries. In: Hubert M, Bajos N, Sandfort T, eds. Sexual Behavior and HIV/AIDS in Europe. London, England: UCL Press; 1998:403–426.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances