The Beat: Pregnant and Parenting Youth
In February, the Guttmacher Institute released “Facts on American Teens' Sexual and Reproductive Health,” a survey of over two-dozen recent studies and publications on the topic of adolescent sexual behavior. This is the first such survey from the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit that promotes sexual and reproductive health, since 2009.
Laura Lindberg, a senior research associate at Guttmacher, spoke with NCFY about the report’s implications for youth workers and organizations that aim to prevent teen preganancy.
NCFY: Can you summarize the general trends in teen pregnancy and contraception?
LINDBERG: The major trends are first, a decline in teen pregnancy over the last two decades. It’s been declining relatively steadily since a high in 1991...
“Pregnancy and Mental Health of Young Homeless Women” (abstract). American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Vol. 81, No. 2, April 2011.
What it’s about: This study explores the experiences and mental health of homeless young women who are pregnant or have children. The researchers looked at 222 homeless 16- to 19-year-old girls who were sexually active at the beginning of the three-year study. Data came from from the Midwest Longitudinal Study of Homeless Adolescents.
Why read it: We know that homeless young women in the United States are much more likely to become pregnant than their peers. But few studies have looked at mental health or other stresses that negatively affect young homeless mothers. A good understanding of what homeless young moms go through may help youth workers...
Homelessness is a traumatic experience for young children who experience it. Many young mothers experiencing homelessness have also experienced trauma either in their own childhoods or more recently.
Join the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness on Wednesday, May 9, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm, for a discussion of ways homeless services programs can use a trauma-informed care model to serve mothers and their children better and help break through the cycle of trauma and homelessness.
Panelists will include USICH Executive Director Barbara Poppe and the director of SAMHSA's National Center for Trauma Informed Care...
NCFY's new video series features seven youth workers from around the country, each sharing a time when they made a big difference in a young person's life.
Shane Burroughs, from Valley Youth House in Allentown, PA, told the story of a teen mother who achieved newfound stability after staying at his organization's rapid re-housing program, which finds stable homes for homeless youth as quickly as possible.
The "When Did You Make the Biggest Difference in a Young Person's Life?" video series was shot in Portland, OR, during the 2011 National Runaway and Homeless Youth Family and Youth Services Bureau Grantee Conference in November. A complementary series titled "What's Your...
NCFY's new video series features seven youth workers from around the country, each sharing a time when they made a big difference in a young person's life.
Up first is Linda Mascarenas from Family and Youth Services in Stockton, CA. She talks about a teen mother who eventually became a paid employee of Mascarenas' youth program.
The "When Did You Make the Biggest Difference in a Young Person's Life?" video series was shot in Portland, OR, during the 2011 National Runaway and Homeless Youth Family and Youth Services Bureau Grantee Conference in November. A complementary series titled "What's Your Most Meaningful Relationship?" features formerly homeless young people talking about the...
Q: I’ve heard of WIC and some other nutrition programs for low-income mothers. What are they, and can young people in my program benefit?
A: WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children and is a federal program designed to provide food to low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women; infants; and children up to age five. The program provides a combination of nutritious foods, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care -- all at no charge. The program is available in all 50 States and 34 Indian Tribal Organizations. Most young women and their children living in maternity group homes will be eligible to participate in the WIC program. Learn more about how to apply.
Typically, WIC participants receive checks or vouchers to purchase specific foods each month, like infant cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal, vitamin...
“Perceived Fatherhood Roles and Parenting Behaviors Among African American Teen Fathers” (abstract), Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 26, No. 1, January 2011. (originally published online November 2010)
What it’s about: Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 30 African American fathers, aged 14 to 19 years old, in order to learn how this group defined and performed the father role. Over half the young men described fatherhood primarily in terms of providing financially for their children. Almost 30 percent defined fatherhood as being nurturing—physically present, emotionally involved, and spending “quality time” with their children. A small group of fathers said that neither they nor other fathers had any real obligation to provide for or be involved in the lives of their children.
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This winter, runaway and homeless youth programs funded by the Family and Youth Services Bureau were given the chance to win the materials to paint a wall mural in their facilities. In a series of Beat posts, we recognize the runners-up and the winner.
Youth in our transitional living program created sketches during an independent-living-skills group, in which we discussed how they see their transition into adulthood and permanent housing. Youth discussed their own feelings about how they have progressed since entering into services to assist homeless and runaway youth. Some youth had been involved with the program longer and were able to act as mentors to newer youth and were supportive and encouraging that people can turn their lives around if they accept the help that is offered to them and do their part also. Youth then discussed what they wanted to draw and decided that since each journey is so unique, they...
“The Role of Religiosity in the Relationship Between Parents, Peers, and Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavior” (abstract), Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 40, No. 3, March 2011.
What it's about: The authors of this article wanted to learn how parents’ religiosity reduces the chances of adolescents engaging in risky sexual behavior. They studied 612 African American youth from small towns and cities in Iowa and Georgia for two years. The young people were between 18 and 19 years old at the end of the study.
Why read it: Research has shown that, compared to their peers, adolescents with religious parents wait longer to have sex, have fewer sexual partners, and practice safer sex when they do have it. But we don’t know how and why parents’ religiosity affects teen sexual behavior...
Here's something you may or may not know: Though the U.S. teen birth rate is at a record low, 3 in 10 American girls get pregnant by age 20.
You can test young people's knowledge of these and other facts by encouraging them to take the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy's annual online quiz. Posted each May on Stay Teen, the National Campaign's website for youth, and available in English and Spanish, the quiz encourages teens to think carefully about sex, relationships, contraception, the possibility of pregnancy and the lifelong challenges of being a parent. This year, the quiz will be available May 4-31.
The quiz can make a difference for teens: Of last year's participants who responded to a survey, about three-quarters said the quiz made them think about what they might do in situations involving unplanned pregnancy. Two-thirds said some of the situations in the quiz...
