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Feminists have argued that the association made between teenage childbearing and long-term lower socioeconomic status hides a multitude of socially constructed inequalities. I extend this position by analyzing how the association is linked in the South African literature on teenage pregnancy to economic security. I utilize Foucault's conceptualization of the method of security. Security refers to institutions and practices that defend and maintain a national population as well as secure the economic, demographic, and social processes of that population. I analyze how the traits of the method of security are deployed with regard to teenage pregnancy; how reproductive adolescents are viewed as disrupting the production of the economic self and fracturing population control, thereby threatening economic security; and how the invocation of economic security allows for the legitimation of various regulatory practices.

The relationship between the probability of a teenage birth and various independent variables representing fecundity, attitudes, resources, and the economic opportunities for a sample of teenage females drawn from the 1980 census is examined. A theoretical framework, based on Becker's model, is employed to describe the birth-decision process and tested using a logit technique. The findings suggest that receipt of public assistance income and perceived economic opportunities are more important in explaining fertility probabilities among older (18-19 years old) teenagers. Among younger teens, accessibility to family planning and abortion services, and religious attitudes toward family planning are more important predictors of fertility.

Teen childbearing is commonly believed to cause long-term socioeconomic disadvantages for mothers and their children. However, earlier cross-sectional studies may have inadequately accounted for marked differences in family background among women who have first births at different ages. We present new estimates that take into account unmeasured family background heterogeneity by comparing sisters who timed their first births at different ages. In two of the three data sets we examine, sister comparisons suggest that biases from family background heterogeneity are important, and, therefore, that earlier studies may have overstated the consequences of teen childbearing.

Recent shifts in economic and social conditions have put young women who begin their childbearing as teenagers in an increasingly precarious economic position. In this article, I use a nationally representative data set to examine how the effect of teenage childbearing on women's economic well-being changed during the period 1968-87. A review of the literature on the consequences of teenage childbearing and changing economic conditions provides a framework in which to interpret the results.

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were analyzed to determine whether the impact of adolescent childbearing on women's subsequent contact with the welfare system differed for Black and White women. Results of a path analysis indicate that there were distinctive differences between young Black and White women in the way early childbearing influences welfare receipt over an 8-year period. These differences are not fully apparent unless both direct and indirect effects of predictor variables are taken into account.

Research is presented describing the study of teenage births and the influence of economic benefits on the choices made by teenagers whether to have children or not.

The impacts of teenage childbearing on academic achievement and future income of the mothers are examined. Results show that the likelihood of receiving a high school diploma is reduced by 5 to 10 percentage points probably annual income is decreased by $1,000 to $2,400. The possibility of lower years of schooling and receiving cash assistance among those who gave birth as teenagers is studied.

An empirical illustration of the extent, to which family heterogeneity is biasing the family fixed effects, based on the real data, is given.

Objectives. This study assessed the relation of socioeconomic status (SES), family structure, and race/ethnicity to adolescent sexual behaviors that are key determinants of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Methods. The 1992 Youth Risk Behavior Survey/Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey provided family data from household adults and behavioral data from adolescents. Results. Among male and female adolescents, greater parental education, living in a 2-parent family, and White race were independently associated with never having had sexual intercourse. Parental education did not show a linear association with other behaviors. Household income was not linearly related to any sexual behavior. Adjustment for SES and family structure had a limited effect on the association between race/ethnicity and sexual behaviors. Conclusions. Differences in adolescent sexual behavior by race and SES were not large enough to fully explain differences in rates of pregnancy and STD infection. This suggests that other factors, including access to health services and community prevalence of STDs, may be important mediating variables between SES and STD transmission and pregnancy among adolescents. (Am J Public Health. 2000;90:1582-1588)