Fathering pregnancies: marking health-risk behaviors in urban adolescents
Guagliardo, M.F.; Huang, Z.; D'Angelo, L.J.
Journal of Adolescent Health Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 24(1): 10-15
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 1054-139X PMID: 9890359 DOI: 10.1016/s1054-139x(98)00028-7Document Number: 280183
Findings are presented from a study conducted to establish self-reported rates and associated correlates of fathering pregnancies among urban male teenagers, and to explore the possibility of using their pregnancy history (PH) as a marker for other health risk behaviors. A blinded, self-administered questionnaire was given to a convenience sample of 399 young, nonvirgin men aged 12-19 years old, of mean age 16.3, recruited from April 1994 through March 1996 at an inner-city adolescent outpatient clinic. 93.8% of the subjects were African-American and 24.2% reported causing a PH. A urine sample was collected from 73.5% of the study participants and tested for 5 drugs of abuse. 27.7% of these men had traces of drugs in their urine, of whom more than 97% were positive for cannabinoids. Compared to the young men with no pregnancy history, those with a PH were 13.8 times more likely to report 3 or more lifetime sex partners, 5.4 times more likely to report a history of STDs, 3.1 times more likely to test positive for consuming drugs, and more 2.7 times more likely to be inconsistent or nonusers of condoms. No support was found for an association between violent behavior and PH.