title: Seasonality of birth and conception to teenagers in Texas.
abstract: We study the births to teenagers during the years 1964-2000 and analyze separately the three main racial/ethnic groups in Texas (White, Hispanic, and African American), as well as married and unmarried teens during the years 1994-2000. By using traditional statistical methods of analysis and a filter based on the multiresolution wavelet analysis, we draw inferences about the times of the year when adolescent females of different racial/ethnic and marital groups have the highest probability for pregnancy ending in live birth. Multiple factors influencing teen pregnancy are identified and associated with temporal features of social, cultural, educational, and familial processes. In particular, we detect links between unmarried teen conception times and school terms, and weekly birth patterns associated with scheduled c-sections that differ according to racial/ethnic groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Scafetta
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Restrepo
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001723:Birth Rate; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011336:Probability; D012621:Seasons; D012847:Single Person / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013781:Texas; D013997:Time Factors; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data