Trying to Maximize the Odds: Using What We Know to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

Abstract:
After three decades of effort to reduce teen pregnancy in the U.S., there are still only a few well evaluated and successful programs that seem to contribute to achieving this goal. It is not true, however, that nothing is known about how to affect teen pregnancy, teen births, and their antecedents. There is enough known that any new initiative can build on what is promising, can avoid what has been shown not to work, and can contribute to the knowledge in this area by including a competent evaluation of its efforts. This document describes teen pregnancy prevention strategies that have at least marginally credible evaluations and seem to postpone sexual intercourse, increase contraceptive use, lower pregnancy rates, or prevent early births. In addition, it considers how several individual approaches might be put together in a community to create a more comprehensive effort to prevent teen pregnancy. The report expresses a number of points in a straightforward (at times, blunt) manner--for example, 'no single intervention will last throughout the adolescent years (there is no vaccine).' An extensive bibliography lists the published evaluations of the programs described in this report.

Author(s): PHILLIBER, Susan; and NAMEROW, Pearila


Date Published: 12/13/1995

Pages: 20

Location Code: 8219