Contraceptive Use Patterns Within Females' First Sexual Relationships: The Role of Relationships, Partners, And Methods‪.‬

The prevalence of teenage pregnancy and childbearing is high in the United States, especially in comparison with other industrialized countries (Abma, Martinez, Mosher, & Dawson, 2004; Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2004; Martin, Hamilton, & Sutton, 2005; Singh, Darroch, & Frost, 2001; UNICEF, 2001). Public concern and prevention efforts over unintended pregnancies have focused primarily on teens because the vast majority of teen pregnancies and births are unintended (Abma et al., 2004; Henshaw, 1998), few births to teenage mothers occur within marriage (Franzetta, Ikramullah, Manlove, Moore, & Cottingham, 2006), and teenage mothers and their children have poorer economic, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes than do women who delay childbearing (Maynard, 1997; Terry-Humen, Manlove, & Moore, 2005). Racial and ethnic minorities are at an especially high risk of unintended pregnancy and childbearing during the teen years. For example, Black and Hispanic females aged 15-19 have birth rates that are two to three times the rates of non-Hispanic White teen females, with the highest birth rates occurring to Hispanics, followed by Black and White teens (Franzetta et al., 2006; Martin et al., 2005). The especially high rates of adolescent childbearing among racial and ethnic minorities contribute to higher rates of poverty in these communities (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2002, 2004). The prevalence of unintended pregnancy and childbearing also is high among females in their early 20s. In fact, the highest rates of nonmarital childbearing occur to women aged 20-24 (Martin et al., 2005). Nonmarital pregnancy and childbearing in the early 20s is also high among racial and ethnic minorities (Martin et al., 2005), and young women who have a first birth outside of marriage are less likely to marry and are more likely to receive public assistance than are young women who delay childbearing until marriage (Driscoll et al., 1999; Lichter & Graefe, 2001; Martin et al.; Upchurch, Lillard, & Panis, 2001).