Risk Factors for Teenage Fatherhood

Fatherhood is the consequence of a series of decisions and interactions including those surrounding the initiation and maintenance of sexual activity the use of contraception and the continuation of a pregnancy to term. Fatherhood therefore results from a social process which began months or years earlier. Data from the Rochester Youth Development Study an ongoing panel study of urban youth were used to identify early risk factors for the likelihood of becoming a teen father. The Rochester study is an ongoing panel study investigating the development of delinquent behavior drug use and related behaviors among urban adolescents in Rochester New York. The prospective study has interviewed adolescents and the adults mainly responsible for their care in waves since 1988 beginning with a sample of 1000 public school 7th and 8th graders and their families. The sample was stratified to overrepresent youth at high risk for serious delinquency and drug use. Data on respondents are also collected from school police courts and social service agencies. Findings are based upon 615 young men of average age 21 years interviewed during 1995-96 in wave 11 of the study; 121 White 386 Black and 108 Hispanic. 7 men reported becoming fathers at age 15. From that age the rate of fatherhood increases steadily until 28.5% of respondents overall had become fathers before age 20. Teen fatherhood was found to be positively related to a variety of risk factors including low social class low educational performance early sexual activity and drug use. The probability of becoming a teen father increases exponentially as the number of risk factors increases.