Teenage pregnancy: a prospective study of self-esteem and other sociodemographic factors

A prospective study was undertaken to examine the relationship of self-esteem and other factors theorized to contribute to teenage pregnancy. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and a questionnaire concerning demographic, attitudinal, and other factors, were administered to 874 of the 1,007 teenage women enrolled in two city high schools. During the following year, 95 of 858 teenage women followed up became pregnant, a pregnancy rate of 11.1%. The data show no significant association of self-esteem with subsequent pregnancy. Twelve of the 27 questionnaire items were associated significantly with pregnancy. However, further analysis revealed that either alone or in combination, there were no more than 57% sensitivity and 67% specificity for prediction of subsequent pregnancy from the questionnaires.