A Study of Low Socioeconomic Status, Black Teenage Fathers and Their Nonfather Peers

Demographic background, attitude and knowledge about pregnancy and contraception, and family characteristics and dynamics of 100 teenage fathers were studied and compared with those of 100 nonfather, age-matched peers. The subjects' age ranged from 14 to 19 years with a mean age of 17.5 years. Nearly all subjects were black and were from families of low socioeconomic status. There were no differences between the two groups for age at first sexual intercourse (mean 12.5 years) and frequency of intercourse in the last year. More control subjects than fathers perceived pregnancy as disruptive of their future plans for school, job, and marriage. Teenage fathers were more likely to have mothers who were teenage parents (77% v 53%, P = .0007). In both groups, one third of their brothers and 44% of their sisters were teenage parents. Both groups had poor knowledge about the risk of pregnancy and the effectiveness of contraceptives. In both groups, negative attitudes about contraceptives represent barriers to their use. Both groups of subjects became sexually active at young ages, had poor knowledge about pregnancy prevention, and often had unprotected intercourse. Although there were many similarities between the two groups, the teenage fathers, in particular, seemed to come from an environment in which teenage pregnancy was common, accepted, and perceived to be minimally disruptive of their lives now or in the future.