Sex, Contraception and Abortion ……… in the executive boardroom????

Cohort overview What is available - some similarities and differences Take care when ……….. Research examples

NLSY in 1979 Annual surveys ; biennial through survey points covering ~100% of female childbearing Age in 2006: 41-49

NLSY in 1997 Annual surveys Most recent available data: 2004/05 (R8) Age in R8: 19-24

NLSY79 Young Adults 15 and over Biennial surveys Age in 2006: 14 (will be 15 by end of calendar year) – 35 (1 respondent) N in 2006: 5844 and #s growing! Age of mothers of these young adults

Following Youth through Later Adolescence/Early Adulthood NLSY (1979) → (1989) 10 years NLSY-YA14-16 (1994+) → (2004+) 10 years NLSY (1996) → (2004) 8

What is available?

Abortion 1979 – asks about outcome of each pregnancy not ending in live birth (SB MC AB). Beginning in 1992, only collected end data of first non-live birth sli but not outcome. Dates of all abortions are collected year by year – asks about outcome of each pregnancy not ending in live birth (SB MC AB) -- ties to pregancy + self reported Young Adults – all direct questions re: abortion and pregnancies not ending in LB dropped in 2000 Mode of asking questions makes real difference to quality of data – 2000 moved to telephone (Young Adults).

1979 Ever had sex (1983, 1984, 1985) – NB youngest person =18 in Once answered yes, not asked again. Those responding “yes” asked age at first intercourse. Had sex in past month? + # of times Do you use birth control? If yes, what methods? Frequency of method use (always, sometimes, almost never). Methods used in past month (from list). Asked annually then biennially.

1997 Ever had sex* Age at first sex* Use of contraception at first sex* # of sex partners* In past 12 months - # sex partners, # times had sex, # times used bc, bc method used most often (9 choices)* Information about partner etc. at first sex (R4 onwards) (age, race/ethnicity, education of partner, location, relationship status etc. ) Frequency of sex since last interview Abortions and miscarriages (14+ girls R1, updates M and F R2 onwards) Birth control use at time of last pregnancy *Asked 14+ R1 and R2 and then everyone R3 onwards

1997 – R1 Have you ever had sexual intercourse, that is made love, had sex, or gone all the way with a person of the opposite sex? yes no Valid skip = 3577 (who are these valid skips?)

Young Adults Age at first sex (asked of children 13+) Number of partners How long ago last had sex Used birth control last sex Type of birth control used Relationship, age and cohabitation status of most recent sexual partner (since 1998) ever become pregnant and type of birth control used when became pregnant (females)

Determinants of early sex? Which cohorts might you want to use? What is the research question? Pros and cons of each data set

Be careful what you wish for! (Young Adults) Age at first sex Respondent ID * * never had sex

Teen birth rates declined significantly since peak in 1991 Abortion rates among teens have also dropped Approximately 25% of decline in teen birth rate due to increased abstinence, 75% due to changes in behavior of sexually experienced Teens today more likely to use contraceptives when they first have sex.

Despite declines American teens still have higher pregnancy rates than teens in other Western industrialized countries American teens also have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections than teenagers in other developed countries : 1 in 4 teens acquire an STI each year Girls > boys Why?

How might dating relationships be associated with adolescent sexual initiation? Does this association differ for males and females and/or by race?

Percentage of adolescents who had sex between ages and who reported……. AllMaleFemaleBlackNon-black Dating < first sex * * 58.0 Dating = first sex * * 34.1 Sex < dating * N=564

Is there a relationship between family processes and the likelihood of an adolescent being sexually active prior to age 17? Is there a relationship between family processes and contraceptive use at first sex for those adolescents who are sexually active prior to age 17?

Sample in 1997: Ages 12 and 13 Virgins Lived with mother N=2,607

Supportiveness of mother: Very supportive Somewhat supportive Not very supportive Is mother permissive or strict? Uninvolved = somewhat supportive/not very supportive + permissive (10%) Authoritarian = somewhat supportive/not very supportive + strict (13%) Permissive = very supportive + permissive (32%) Authoritative = very supportive + strict (45%)

Mother-Child Relationship. 1) I think highly of my mother 2) She is a person I want to be like 3) I really enjoy spending time with her. (Answer choices: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree). 4) How often does she praise you for doing well? 5) How often does she criticize you or your ideas? (reverse coded) 6) How often does she help you do things that are important to you? 7) How often does she blame you for her problems? (reverse coded) 8) How often does she make plans with you and cancel for no good reason? (reverse coded) (Answer choices: never, rarely, sometimes, usually, always).

In a typical week, how many days from 0-7 do you eat dinner with your family? does housework get done when it is supposed to? do you do something fun as a family? do you do something religious as a family?

How much does she know about… 1) your close friends, that is who they are? 2) your close friends’ parents, that is who they are? 3) who you are with when you are not at home? 4) who your teachers are and what you are doing in school? (Answer choices: (0) knows nothing, (1) knows just a little,(2) knows some things, (3) knows most things, (4) knows everything). Range = 0-16 with higher scores indicating higher levels of maternal monitoring.

Who sets limits on: how late the adolescent can stay out, who they can hang out with what kinds of TV and movies they are allowed to view. The scale ranges from 0 (youth sets all limits) to 6 (mother sets all limits).

Family structure Gender Race/ethnicity Parental education Urban versus Rural residence Residence in Metropolitan area Fundamentalist religion

Sexual Intercourse Prior to Age 17 SignificanceOdds ratio Uninvolved NS(+++) Permissive NS (NS) Authoritarian +(+++) 1.35 Relationship with M NS(- - -) C turns to parent(s) (- - -) 0.73 Family routines NS (- - -) M monitors -(- - -) 0.97 Setting Limits - - -(- - -) 0.89 Lived with stepparent NS (+++) Single mother +++ (+++) 2.09 Lived with other adult +++ (+++) 2.04 Note: race/ethnicity, parental education, metropolitan, fundamentalist and sex of child also included in analyses. +/- p<.05 ++/-- p< /--- p<.001

Use of Contraception at First Sexual Intercourse Prior to Age 17 SignificanceOdds ratio Uninvolved NS (NS) Permissive NS (NS) Authoritarian NS (NS) Relationship with M NS(+) C turns to parent(s) NS (NS) Family routines NS (NS) M monitors NS(+) Setting Limits NS(NS) Lived with stepparent NS (NS) Single mother NS (NS) Lived with other adult NS (NS) Note: race/ethnicity, parental education, metropolitan, fundamentalist and sex of child also included in analyses. +/- p<.05 ++/-- p< /--- p<.001

Use of Contraception at First Sexual Intercourse Prior to Age 17 Used ContraceptionUsed Condom Black HispanicNS NS Fundamentalist Religion /- p<.05 ++/-- p< /--- p<.001