The article is about a study that was done to examine how common teenage pregnancy is among young women in and out of foster care. The data used in the study were from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Youth (Midwest study) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add health study). The objectives of the study were: to find out the likelihood of young girls aging out of foster care to become pregnant; to compare their likelihood to become pregnant to that of young girls from the general population, and to find out the effects of extending the age of foster care to beyond 18 years.
The subjects of the Midwest study were 732 young girls aging out of foster care. Baseline interviews were conducted when these girls were either 17 or 18 years old, and re-interviews done when they were 19 years old. Data collection was done using Audio Computer Aided Self Interviewing, which involved listening to previously recorded questions and entering the appropriate answer into a laptop computer. Data from the Add health study was presented to bring out the experiences of foster youth.
The results of the Midwestern study indicated that 33.3% of young women had been pregnant, at least once, by 17 or 18 years of age. Only 13% of the girls in the Add health study had been pregnant by this age. By the age of 19 years, 50% and 20% of the girls in the Midwest study and the Add health study respectively, had been pregnant at least once. The study also found out that African-American young women were three times more likely to become pregnant compared to non-Hispanic White young women. In addition, the likelihood of repeated pregnancy by the age of 19 years was also high. 23% and 17% of the young women in the Midwest study and the Add health study had been pregnant more than once by the age of 17 or 18 years. The figures increased to 46% and 34% respectively by the age of 19. 19 year olds still in foster care were less likely to become pregnant compared to those out of care.
Certain factors were identified either as risk factors or protective factors of teenage pregnancy amongst this group. Child maltreatment in the form of sexual abuse, physical abuse or neglect increase the risk of pregnancy in foster youth. It was hypothesized that the number of foster homes a child is placed is directly proportional to the risk of pregnancy. No relationship was found between the level of education and the likelihood of teenage pregnancy. Psychiatric disorders increase the risk of teenage pregnancy. A close relationship with an adult guardian can help teenagers to avoid pregnancy. Young women, aged 19 and still in care are less likely to become pregnant than those no longer in care.
The article clearly identifies the factors that increase pregnancy in foster youth. For example, the number of foster homes that a child is placed may play a role in teenage pregnancy. Attending many foster homes can increase the risk of pregnancy because the young women do not get enough time create a stable relationship with their parents. It also suggests that some young women get pregnant to fill the emotional void left in them by the fact that they do not have a family. The article, however, creates more questions than it gives answers. For instance, it does not explain why the children are in foster homes. It also fails to come up with solutions on how to reduce pregnancy among foster youth. This, it states, is the function of child welfare service providers.
Bibliography
Gotbaum, B., 2005. Children raising children: City fails to adequately assist pregnant and parenting youth in foster care, New Yorl: NY: Public Advocate for the City of New York.
Miller, B., Benson, B. & Galbraith, K., 2001. Family relationships and adolescent pregnancy risk: A research synthesis. Developmental Review, Volume 21, pp. 1-38.
Smith, C., 1996. The link between childhood maltreatment and teenage pregnancy. Social Work Research, 20(3), pp. 131-142.
