Pregnancy intentions among expectant adolescent couples

Abstract

Study objective: To examine the self-reported pregnancy intentions of the male partners of expectant adolescent mothers, the accuracy of adolescent mothers' perceptions of their partner's pregnancy intentions, and the concordance between young mothers' and fathers' pregnancy intentions.

Design: This cross-sectional pilot study collected interview data from expectant adolescent mothers and their male partners.

Setting: Data were collected in participants' homes.

Participants: 35 expectant couples were interviewed separately. Most participants were African American (89% of mothers, 74% of fathers). 69% of mothers were 17-18 years old, and half of the fathers were ≥19.

Main outcome measures: Parents responded to survey questions adapted from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System Questionnaire.

Results: 44% of fathers reported wanting their partner to get pregnant. Another 15% were ambivalent. A kappa statistic of 0.12 (P = .33) indicated very little "accuracy" of mothers' perceptions of their partners' pregnancy intentions. Further, there was low concordance between the pregnancy intentions of mothers and fathers. Young fathers who wanted or were ambivalent about pregnancy were significantly more likely to use no contraception or withdrawal.

Conclusion: For a notable number of minority couples, adolescent mothers do not have an accurate perception of their partners' pregnancy intentions and use contraceptive methods that are not within their control. These findings indicate that teen pregnancy prevention interventions must target young males in addition to females and sexually active adolescents should be encouraged to discuss pregnancy intentions with each other.

Keywords: Adolescent pregnancy; Contraceptive use; Pregnancy intentions.