Child Trends E-News: Teen Pregnancy Issue

	December 9, 2013  Subscribe Adolescent Health Highlight Teen pregnancy and childbearing The percentage of teens who get pregnant or give birth has gone down almost continuously since the early 1990s. Still, an estimated 18 percent of 15-year-old adolescent females will have given birth by the time they turn 20. This Adolescent Health Highlight describes key research findings about teen pregnancy and childbearing, including prevalence and trends, teens' attitudes about teen pregnancy, and racial and geographic differences in teen birth rates. It also covers research and program initiatives focused on the role and responsibilities of males in the context of teen pregnancy. READ IT Teen Pregnancy Prevention among Latinos Despite recent declines in teen childbearing, estimates suggest that 28 percent of Hispanic women will have a baby by the time they turn 20. Supported by The JPB Foundation, Child Trends has developed a series of briefs and infographics related to teen pregnancy prevention for Hispanic teens.  Attitudes on teen parenthood and contraception  Hispanic teens and their parents generally report positive attitudes about birth control use and have high educational goals, suggesting a need to align teens' sexual and contraceptive behaviors with their goals. This research brief, based on the results of focus groups with Latino teens and parents, reports on values and attitudes about parenthood, dating, sex, and birth control use among teens-and the implications of these attitudes for teen pregnancy prevention programs.  Communication and teen pregnancy prevention in Latino families   Most Latino parents and teens don't talk about sex, dating, and teen parenthood often or extensively, yet parents believe they are sending clear messages to their teens about the values and behaviors they expect them to uphold. Both parents and their teens want to improve their communication about these topics. Read more on barriers to and facilitators of productive teen-parent conversations in this brief. Infographic: Hispanic teens and communication about sex and contraception  Pregnancy prevention interventions for Hispanic teens should promote parent involvement and help adolescents develop e­ffective communication skills with parents and partners, while providing information teens might not be getting at home. Check out this infographic for more. Infographic: Sex and contraceptive use: a focus on female Hispanic adolescents  To be most e­ffective, e­fforts to increase contraceptive use among Hispanic teens should be combined with eff­orts to delay sexual activity and be targeted to teens prior to their initiating sex or having children. Check out this infographic for more. LEARN MORE Congratulations! National Campaign's celebration of drop in teen birth rate Last week, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy celebrated a 52 percent drop in the teen birth rate since its peak in the early 1990s. Child Trends salutes the National Campaign, federal and state agencies, teen pregnancy prevention programs, the research/ evaluation community, and teens and families themselves for their work toward achieving these results. Congratulations! LEARN MORE Upcoming Event Copyright © 2013 by Child Trends, Inc.