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Author: Serrato, Carl A.
Resulting in 2 citations.
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Serrato, Carl A. |
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Premarital Pregnancies, Pregnancy Resolutions and Public Policy Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California - Los Angeles, 1990 Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning Keyword(s): Abortion; Adolescent Fertility; Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Behavior; Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; Fertility; Hispanics; Parents, Single; Poverty; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes; Racial Differences; Sex Education; Sexual Behavior; State Welfare; Welfare The premarital fertility rate of teenagers and young women has risen steadily over the past two decades. In some quarters it is the common wisdom that public programs, such as sex education and welfare, are an important cause of teenage pregnancy, premarital childbearing and subsequent poverty. This study examines the role public policies play in young women's decisions regarding the likelihood of out-of-wedlock pregnancy resolutions (abortion, single-parenthood, married- parenthood). The specific public policies examined are Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), sex education, public funding of abortion services, parental involvement laws and availability of abortion providers. The underlying model of decision making employed in this study is a multiperiod utility maximizing model. One conclusion from this model is that public policies are expected to play a more prominent role in the pregnancy resolution decisions than in decisions concerning pregnancy risk tak ing behaviors. The principle source of data for the empirical analyses is the NLSY combined with state-year measures of policy variables. The findings of this study are that public policies do not affect the probability that a young woman will experience a premarital pregnancy. States with more generous economic assistance programs are not encouraging young women to become premaritally pregnant in order to qualify for welfare. Increased access to abortions is not associated with riskier sexual behavior, and there is no strong evidence that sex education courses change the probability of a premarital pregnancy. However, public policies do affect pregnancy resolution decisions. Higher AFDC payments lower the likelihood that premaritally pregnant women will choose either abortion or married-parenthood. Hispanic and white women are more inclined to choose abortions if they have had a prior sex education course. Finally, decreasing the supply of abortion providers or eliminating the government subsidy of abortions for poor women will increase the rates of premarital childbearing. |
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Bibliography Citation
Serrato, Carl A. Premarital Pregnancies, Pregnancy Resolutions and Public Policy. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California - Los Angeles, 1990. |
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Serrato, Carl A. |
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Resolution of Premarital Pregnancies: What is the Role of Public Policy? Presented: Baltimore, MD, Population Association of America Meetings, 1989 Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: Population Association of America Keyword(s): Abortion; Adolescent Fertility; Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Birth Rate; Childbearing, Adolescent; Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; Family Planning; Fertility; Poverty; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes; Sex Education; State Welfare; Teenagers; Welfare Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Since the 1960s the teenage birth rate has declined by almost half, yet teenage childbearing is still considered a major national concern. Underlying the overall decline in teenage fertility are a rising birth rate among single teenagers and an increase in the rates of teenage pregnancy and abortion. While many public programs (e.g., family planning services, sex education, parental consent laws) have been initiated with the purpose of reversing these trends, in some quarters it is the common wisdom that these programs, along with others (e.g., public assistance programs), are an important cause of teenage pregnancy and childbearing. Using the NLSY, the author examines the influence public policies may have on young women's decisions concerning how to resolve a premarital pregnancy: birth and marriage, birth and remaining single, or abortion. |
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Bibliography Citation
Serrato, Carl A. "Resolution of Premarital Pregnancies: What is the Role of Public Policy?" Presented: Baltimore, MD, Population Association of America Meetings, 1989. |