Search Results
Author: Shearer, Darlene Louise
Resulting in 3 citations.
| 1. |
Shearer, Darlene Louise |
|
Cognitive Ability and Its Association With Early Childbearing and Second Teen Births Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, 1999 Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Birth Rate; Births, Repeat / Spacing; Childbearing, Adolescent; Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Poverty; Pregnancy, Adolescent; Self-Esteem; Sexual Activity; Variables, Independent - Covariate Despite efforts to reduce the incidence of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing in the U.S., it remains a pressing social concern and public health problem. Indeed, births to women under 20 continue to constitute one of every seven births in this country and remain higher than teen birth rates in comparable industrialized nations. The literature clearly indicates that factors such as (a) early initiation of sexual activity, (b) lack of appropriate reproductive knowledge, (c) limited educational aspirations, (d) low self-esteem, and (e) family poverty increase the likelihood that an adolescent will begin early childbearing and that she will subsequently have at least one additional birth during adolescence. It is also clear that a certain level of cognitive ability and decision-making competence are necessary for a young woman to negotiate critical decision points in order to avoid unplanned childbearing. Yet, early childbearing in the context of cognitive limitation remains largely unstudied. The present study used a matched-pairs nested case control design to examine cognitive ability as an independent variable; early childbearing and second teen births as outcome variables; and age of initiation, level of reproductive knowledge, level of educational expectations, level of self esteem, and family poverty status as intervening variables that might mediate the effects of the independent and dependent variable relationship. Study subjects were women in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) (N = 2,094) who were between the ages of 14 and 22 at the beginning of the NLSY study. One third of the study sample (n = 706) were women who gave birth to a child before their 18th birthday. They were matched at a ratio of 1 to 2 with women who did not give birth before age 18 on variables of age, race, geographic region, and urban-rural status. Results show that poverty (OR 1.8, CI 1.4, 2.4, p < .001) and low cognitive ability (OR 2.0, CI 1.7, 3.7, p < .001) signific antly increase the odds that a woman will give birth before age 18. Furthermore, low cognitive ability, independent of poverty, significantly increases the odds of a second birth before age 20 (OR 2.9, CI 1.7, 4.9, p < .001). In sum, this study provides a quantitative basis for considering low intellectual function as an important risk factor for adolescent pregnancy. |
|
|
Bibliography Citation
Shearer, Darlene Louise. Cognitive Ability and Its Association With Early Childbearing and Second Teen Births. Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, 1999. |
| 2. |
Shearer, Darlene Louise Mulvilhill, Beverly A. Klerman, Lorraine V. Wallander, Jan L. Hovinga, Mary E. Redden, David T. |
|
Association of Early Childbearing and Low Cognitive Ability Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 34, 5 (2002): 236-243 Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: Alan Guttmacher Institute Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Childbearing; Childbearing, Adolescent; Fertility Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. CONTEXT: Teenage pregnancy remains a pressing social issue and public health problem in the United States. Low cognitive ability is seldom studied as a risk factor for adolescent childbearing. METHODS: Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used in a matched-pairs nested case-control study comparing women who had a first birth before age 18 with those who did not. Significant differences in Armed Forces Qualifications Test scores and in reproductive and social intervening variables were determined using chisquare analyses and t-tests. Multiple logistic regression models determined the independent effects of specific factors on early childbearing. RESULTS:Women who had their first birth before age 18 had significantly lower cognitive scores than others; women with a second birth before age 20 had significantly lower scores than those with one teenage birth. On average, women with the lowest cognitive scores initiated sexual activity 1.4 years earlier than those with the highest cognitive scores. Among those who had had a sexuality education course, a smaller proportion of women had scores in the first quartile for the overall sample than in the fourth quartile (20% vs. 28%); an even greater difference was seen among women who correctly answered a question about pregnancy risk (14% vs. 43%). Both poverty and low cognitive ability increased the odds of early childbearing. CONCLUSIONS: Young women with low cognitive ability are at increased risk for early initiation of sexual activity and early pregnancy. Further research is needed to design interventions that consider this population's specific information and support needs. |
|
|
Bibliography Citation
Shearer, Darlene Louise, Beverly A. Mulvilhill, Lorraine V. Klerman, Jan L. Wallander, Mary E. Hovinga and David T. Redden. "Association of Early Childbearing and Low Cognitive Ability." Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 34, 5 (2002): 236-243.
|
| 3. |
Shearer, Darlene Louise Mulvilhill, Beverly A. Klerman, Lorraine V. Wallander, Jan L. Hovinga, Mary E. Redden, David T. |
|
Association of Early Childbearing and Low Cognitive Ability Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 34,5 (2002):236-243 Also: http://agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3423602.pdf Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79 Publisher: Alan Guttmacher Institute Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Age at First Birth; Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Intelligence Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. METHODS: Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used in a matched-pairs nested case-control study comparing women who had a first birth before age 18 with those who did not. Significant differences in Armed Forces Qualifications Test scores and in reproductive and social intervening variables were determined using chisquare analyses and t-tests. Multiple logistic regression models determined the independent effects of specific factors on early childbearing. RESULTS: Women who had their first birth before age 18 had significantly lower cognitive scores than others; women with a second birth before age 20 had significantly lower scores than those with one teenage birth. On average, women with the lowest cognitive scores initiated sexual activity 1.4 years earlier than those with the highest cognitive scores. Among those who had had a sexuality education course, a smaller proportion of women had scores in the first quartile for the overall sample than in the fourth quartile (20% vs. 28%); an even greater difference was seen among women who correctly answered a question about pregnancy risk (14% vs. 43%). Both poverty and low cognitive ability increased the odds of early childbearing. |
|
|
Bibliography Citation
Shearer, Darlene Louise, Beverly A. Mulvilhill, Lorraine V. Klerman, Jan L. Wallander, Mary E. Hovinga and David T. Redden. "Association of Early Childbearing and Low Cognitive Ability ." Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 34,5 (2002):236-243.
|