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Menarche, sexual practices, and pregnancy: model testing.
M L Talashek1, A C Montgomery, C Moran
1Department of Public Health Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago 60612, USA. Talashek@uic.edu
Clinical Excellence for Nurse Practitioners : the International Journal of NPACE
|November 15, 2000
Summary
Adolescent pregnancy remains a concern, especially for minority youth. Early physiological maturation without sufficient psychological maturity contributes to early sexual activity and unplanned pregnancies in teens.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Adolescent Development
- Sociomedical Sciences
Background:
- Adolescent pregnancy rates in the U.S. remain a significant public health concern.
- Minority adolescents experience disproportionately high birth rates.
- Existing models need further testing to understand factors influencing early pregnancy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationships between age at menarche, sexual practices, and age at first pregnancy in a cohort of minority adolescents.
- To test a developmental maturity model of pregnancy using logistic regression.
- To identify key predictors of early pregnancy in adolescent females.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 152 African American and Latina adolescents receiving prenatal care.
- Logistic regression and multiple regression analyses were employed.
- Examined variables included age at menarche, age at first coitus, race/ethnicity, and birth control use.
Main Results:
- The mean age at first pregnancy was 15.6 years.
- Thirty percent of the sample experienced second pregnancies.
- Predictors of age at first pregnancy included age at first coitus, age at menarche, race/ethnicity, and inconsistent birth control use (only 20% used at first coitus).
Conclusions:
- Early physiological maturation in adolescents may not correlate with psychological and cognitive maturity, leading to early unprotected sexual activity and pregnancy.
- Age at first coitus acts as an intervening variable between menarche and first pregnancy.
- Findings can inform healthcare providers in developing targeted interventions to prevent unplanned adolescent pregnancies.