Risking the Future

More than 1 million teenage girls in the United States become pregnant each year; nearly half give birth. Why do these young people, who are hardly more than children themselves, become parents? The working papers for the report Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing provide additional insight into the trends in and consequences of teenage sexual behavior.Table of ContentsFront MatterTable of ContentsForewordPrefaceAdolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing: An Emerging Research Focus1. Factors Affecting Initiation of Sexual Intercourse2. Adolescent Sexual Behavior as It Relates to Other Transition Behaviors in Youth3. Contraceptive Decision-Making among Adolescents4. Teenage Pregnancy and Its Resolution5. The Health and Medical Consequences of Adolescent Sexuality and Pregnancy: A Review of the Literature6. Social and Economic Consequences of Teenage Childbearing7. Teenage Fatherhood8. The Children of Teen Childbearers9. The Effects of Programs and Policies on Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing10. Estimates of Public Costs for Teenage Childbearing: A Review of Recent Studies and Estimates of 1985 Public CostsReferences