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. 2013 Apr;87(4):459-64.
doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2012.08.020. Epub 2012 Dec 11.

Pre-teen literacy and subsequent teenage childbearing in a US population

Ian M Bennett  1 , Rosemary Frasso, Scarlett L Bellamy, Stanton Wortham, Kennen S Gross
Affiliations

Pre-teen literacy and subsequent teenage childbearing in a US population

Ian M Bennett et al. Contraception. 2013 Apr.

Abstract

Background: While literacy is a key factor in health across the life course, the association of literacy and teenage childbearing has not been assessed in the US.

Study design: Prospective cohort study using standardized reading data from 12,339 girls in the seventh grade in the 1996-97 or 1997-98 academic years of the Philadelphia Public School System linked to birth records from the city of Philadelphia (1996-2002).

Results: Less than average reading skill was independently associated with two and a half times the risk of teen childbearing than average reading skill (aHR 2.51, 95% CI: 1.67-3.77). Above average reading skill was associated with less risk (aHR 0.27, 95% CI 0.17-0.44). A significant interaction (p<.05) between reading skill and race/ethnicity indicated that Hispanic and African American girls had greater risk of teen-childbearing by literacy.

Conclusions: Literacy strongly predicts risk of teenage childbearing independent of confounders. The effects of literacy were stronger among girls with Hispanic or African American race/ethnicity.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Schematic representation of participant selection
Figure 2
Figure 2. Survival Curves Showing Overall Survival and Race/Ethnicity Stratified Association of Reading Score and Teenage Childbearing
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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