TEEN BEHAVIOR RISK FACTOR 1. PERCENT OF BIRTHS TO UNMARRIED WOMEN WITHIN AGE GROUPS

This risk factor shows the percent of all births, within each age group, that are to unmarried women.

• The percent of children born outside of marriage is affected by several factors: the rate at which women marry, the rate at which unmarried women have children, and the rate at which married women have children.
• While the percent of births within each age group that are to unmarried women has been increasing for many years, it has recently leveled off. Although the percent of births within each group that are to unmarried women decreased in 1995 and then increased in 1996, these changes were small. This is true for both adult and teen women, as well as for black and white women. See Appendix D for data on the percent of births within each age group that are to unmarried women by race.
• As Table TEEN 1 shows, the percent of children born outside of marriage remains relatively high. Among teens, over three-quarters of children were born outside of marriage in 1996, compared to just over one-tenth in 1940. Among all women, nearly one-third of children were born outside of marriage, compared to 4 percent in 1940.

Table TEEN 1. Percent of Births that are to Unmarried Women Within Age Groups

Notes: Births to unmarried women in the United States for 1940 - 1979 are estimated from data for registration areas in which marital status of the mother was reported; see sources below. Beginning in 1980, births to unmarried women in the United States are based on data from states reporting marital status directly and data from nonreporting states for which marital status was inferred from other information on the birth certificate; see sources below. Data for 1996 are preliminary.

Sources: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, "Births to Unmarried Mothers: United States, 1980 - 1992," Vital and Health Statistics, Series 21, No. 53, 1995 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, "Report of Final Natality Statistics, 1995," Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 45, No. 11, Supplement, 1997.

TEEN BEHAVIOR RISK FACTOR 2. PERCENT OF ALL BIRTHS TO UNMARRIED TEENS

This risk factor shows the percent of total births that are to unmarried teen mothers each year.

• The percent of all births that are to unmarried teens is affected by several different factors: the age distribution of the population, the marriage rate among teens, the birth rate among unmarried teens, and the birth rate among all other women.
• The percent of all births that were to unmarried teens leveled off over the last three years for both white and black women.
• Between 1970 and 1994, the percent of all births that were to unmarried teens had been increasing steadily among white women.
• Among black women, the percent of all births that were to unmarried teens varied greatly during the same period, peaking in 1975, then falling until the early 1990s. The sharp increase in the percent for black women in the early 1970s reflects a rise in nonmarital teen births concurrent with a decline in total black births.

Table TEEN 2. Percent of All Births that are to Unmarried Teens Age 15 to 19

Notes: Births to unmarried women in the United States for 1940 - 1979 are estimated from data for registration areas in which marital status of the mother was reported; see sources below. Beginning in 1980, births to unmarried women in the United States are based on data from states reporting marital status directly and data from nonreporting states for which marital status was inferred from other information on the birth certificate; see sources below. Beginning in 1980, data are tabulated by race of the mother. Prior to 1980, data are tabulated by race of the child; see sources below. Data for 1996 are preliminary.

Sources: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, "Births to Unmarried Mothers: United States, 1980 - 1992," Vital and Health Statistics, Series 21, No. 53, 1995 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, "Report of Final Natality Statistics, 1995," Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 45, No. 11, Supplement, 1997.

TEEN BEHAVIOR RISK FACTOR 3. UNMARRIED TEEN BIRTH RATES WITHIN AGE GROUPS

This indicator tracks trends in the number of births per 1,000 unmarried teen women within specific age groups.

• The birth rate per 1,000 single teens fell between 1994 and 1995 for both black and white teens in the 15 to 17 and 18 to 19 age groups, with the largest relative decline among black teens age 15 to 17.
• Prior to 1994, birth rates among single white teens in both age groups rose steadily for nearly three decades.
• Among single black teens in both age groups, birth rates varied greatly over the period, peaking in 1991, and falling thereafter. Rates for both age groups were lower in 1995 than in 1970.

Table TEEN 3. Births per 1,000 Unmarried Teen Women Within Age Groups

Note: Rates are per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group; rates prior to 1980 are estimated. Births to unmarried women in the United States for 1940 - 1979 are estimated from data for registration areas in which marital status of the mother was reported; see sources below. Beginning in 1980, births to unmarried women in the United States are based on data from states reporting marital status directly and data from nonreporting states for which marital status was inferred from other information on the birth certificate; see sources below. Beginning in 1980, data are tabulated by race of the mother. Prior to 1980, data are tabulated by the race of the child; see sources below. Rates for 1981 - 1989 have been revised and differ, therefore, from rates published in Vital Statistics in the United States,Vol. 1, Natality, for 1991 and earlier years.

Sources: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, "Births to Unmarried Mothers: United States, 1980 - 1992," Vital and Health Statistics, Series 21, No. 53, 1995 and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, "Report of Final Natality Statistics, 1995," Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 45, No. 11, Supplement, 1997.

TEEN BEHAVIOR RISK FACTOR 4. EARLY SEXUAL INTERCOURSE

Early sexual intercourse is a strong predictor of subsequent childbearing at an early age which increases the risk of dependence.

• The percentage of high school students who reported ever having sexual intercourse increased with each grade, reaching about two-thirds for 12th grade students.
• There is little difference between the percentages for males and females, particularly after grade 9.
• Table TEEN 4 shows that approximately half of all high school students reported ever having sexual intercourse.
• As shown in Table TEEN 4, in 1995, non-Hispanic black high school students (73 percent) were more likely to have ever had sexual intercourse than non-Hispanic white students (49 percent) or Hispanic students (58 percent).

Table TEEN 4. Percentage of High School Students Grades 9 to 12 who Reported Ever Having Sexual Intercourse by Gender, Grade and Race, 1995

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Trends in the Well-Being of America's Children and Youth: 1997. Table SD 4.1.A.