Teen pregnancy is a complex problem, one that has no single cause or cure. It is a result of youth taking risks in their lives. Chances of teen pregnancy—and teen sexual activity—can be reduced by providing youth with lots of the good things—the "assets"—that help them develop resilience and make healthy and responsible choices for themselves.

Teen pregnancy is not just a problem of girls. Boys and men are important factors, and important in teen pregnancy prevention. And teen pregnancy is not just about sex. Some of the most powerful protective factors and risk factors have more to do with other parts of life.

Risk factors make it more likely that a teen will be involved in a pregnancy, Of course, not every teen with risk factors will experience a pregnancy, but the more risk factors, the higher the chance of teen pregnancy. Some of the risk factors found in recent research studies are:

• Living in a disadvantaged community

• Sexual abuse

• Race/Ethnicity

• Thinking that peers are sexually active

• Emotional distress

• Single parent family

• Other risk-taking, like substance abuse

There are also many things found to help protect teens from teen pregnancy. The more protective factors a teen has, the less likely the teen is to take risks and experience a pregnancy. Some of the protective factors are:

• School attachment & success

• Feeling connected to parents and to school

• Good parent communication

• Religiosity

• Higher income and education

• Parents disapprove of teen sex

References:

Kirby D. Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy. Washington, D.C.: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2001.

Resnick MD, et al. Protecting Adolescents from Harm: Finding from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. JAMA 1997:278:823-32.