Race Differences in Teenage Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Adolescent Childbearing

Racial differences in teenage sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing have been declining in recent decades. Patterns prevalent only among blacks a generation ago now extend to whites, but on each component the rates for black teenagers remain substantially higher. Strategies of recovery from the handicaps of premature parenthood are different as young black females find that delaying childbearing has a relatively low pay-off. Declining economic prospects for young black males adversely affect the pool of those eligible for marriage. Premature parenthood will persist until youths perceive a brighter future.

Author(s): Frank F. Furstenberg

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Volume 65, Issue S2 (pages 381–403)
Published in 1987