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 Contents Front Matter Table of Contents Foreword Preface Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing: An Emerging Research Focus 1. Factors Affecting Initiation of Sexual Intercourse 2. Adolescent Sexual Behavior as It Relates to Other Transition Behaviors in Youth 3. Contraceptive Decision-Making among Adolescents 4. Teenage Pregnancy and Its Resolution 5. The Health and Medical Consequences of Adolescent Sexuality and Pregnancy: A Review of the Literature 6. Social and Economic Consequences of Teenage Childbearing 7. Teenage Fatherhood 8. The Children of Teen Childbearers 9. The Effects of Programs and Policies on Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing 10. Estimates of Public Costs for Teenage Childbearing: A Review of Recent Studies and Estimates of 1985 Public Costs References