Male Adolescents Involved in Pregnancy: Associated Health Risk and Problem Behaviors

Abstract

Objective. Little is known about male high school students who have been involved in a pregnancy. This study was undertaken to determine whether male involvement with a pregnancy during adolescence is associated with other risk and problem behaviors.

Methods. The 1993 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey was conducted on a random sample of 3054 9th- through 12th-grade students. The use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, early and multiple sexual experiences, fighting resulting in injury, and demographic variables were compared between sexually active young men who reported being involved in pregnancy (n = 82) and their counterparts who reported not ever causing a pregnancy (n = 537). Associations were measured using x² analyses and Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance. Stepwise logistic regression was used to further analyze those variables significantly associated with involvement with a pregnancy.

Results. Based on logistic regression, older age and earlier ages of onset of cocaine use, initial sexual intercourse, and regular use of cigarettes were associated with being involved with a pregnancy. An increased lifetime frequency of cocaine use, lifetime frequency of alcohol use, and an increased number of lifetime sexual partners were also associated with having caused a pregnancy. Those who reported involvement with a pregnancy reported a higher frequency of being injured in a fight during the past year, drinking while driving, and having multiple sexual partners during the previous 30 days than those who had not gotten someone pregnant.

Conclusions. A history of being involved with a pregnancy clustered with other health risk and problem behaviors to form a "risk behavior syndrome." These findings suggest that when risk behaviors are encountered during the routine comprehensive screening of male adolescents, strategies for pregnancy prevention among young men should also be emphasized.