title: Teenage fertility and its social integration correlates:  a control theory explanation.
abstract: "This study uses control theory to explain teenage fertility in one [U.S.]  southeastern state.  Control theory explains deviance from societal norms in terms of weak social bonding or integration.  An important assumption of the study is that teenage parenting violates American parenting norms, and can thus be conceptualized as deviant behavior. Consequently, this study hypothesizes that teenage fertility should covary with measures of social integration.  This study uses data from 64 parishes in Louisiana, and the results suggest that measures of social integration (i.e., divorce rates, percentage of population living alone, and personal alienation) are significant predictors of teenage fertility in nonurban settings and explain approximately 53% of the variance in teenage fertility.  However, among urban parishes, socioeconomic status is the only significant predictor of teenage fertility, explaining almost 44% of its variance."
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000569:Americas; D001519:Behavior; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D004467:Economics; D005298:Fertility; D008145:Louisiana; D009656:North America; D010290:Parents; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D012424:Rural Population; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012919:Social Behavior; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Adolescent Pregnancy; Age Factors; Americas; Behavior; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Differential Fertility; Economic Factors; Fertility; Louisiana; North America; Northern America; Parental Age; Population; Population Characteristics; Population Dynamics; Reproductive Behavior; Rural Population; Social Behavior; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status; United States; Urban Population