Birth Control Experience among Pregnant Adolescents: The Process of Unplanned Parenthood
- 1 October 1971
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Social Problems
- Vol. 19 (2) , 192-203
- https://doi.org/10.2307/799484
Abstract
This paper questions the common assumption that premarital pregnancy is specially motivated. Instead, it contends that pregnancy is usually the unanticipated outcome of sexual activity. If this is so, it becomes important to investigate why birth control is not used more often to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Results of research on a sample of 337 unmarried black teen-agers indicates that experience with birth control was strongly related to the way sex was viewed by their mothers. Moreover, the influence of the family appears to be conditional on the nature of the male-female relationship: contraceptives were most often used by couples who maintained an ongoing relationship. It appears that only in such relationships is it possible for a girl to benefit from her mother's instructions and exert influence on her sexual partner.Keywords
This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
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- Birth Control Knowledge and Attitudes among Unmarried Pregnant Adolescents: A Preliminary ReportJournal of Marriage and Family, 1969
- Family Planning and Public Policy: Is the "Culture of Poverty" the New Cop-Out?Journal of Marriage and Family, 1968
- Some Aspects of Lower Class Sexual BehaviorJournal of Social Issues, 1966
- Sexual Behavior Among Pre‐adolescentsJournal of Social Issues, 1966