Runaway and pregnant: risk factors associated with pregnancy in a national sample of runaway/homeless female adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
Homeless youth are at particularly high risk for teen pregnancy; research indicates as many as 20% of homeless young women become pregnant. These pregnant and homeless teens lack financial resources and adequate health care, resulting in increased risk for low-birth-weight babies and high infant mortality. This study investigated individual and family-level predictors of teen pregnancy among a national sample of runaway/homeless youth in order to better understand the needs of this vulnerable population.


METHODS
Data from the Runaway/Homeless Youth Management Information System (RHY MIS) provided a national sample of youth seeking services at crisis shelters. A sub-sample of pregnant females and a random sub-sample (matched by age) of nonpregnant females comprised the study sample (N = 951). Chi-square and t tests identified differences between pregnant and nonpregnant runaway females; maximum likelihood logistic regression identified individual and family-level predictors of teen pregnancy.


RESULTS
Teen pregnancy was associated with being an ethnic minority, dropping out of school, being away from home for longer periods of time, having a sexually transmitted disease, and feeling abandoned by one's family. Family factors, such as living in a single parent household and experiencing emotional abuse by one's mother, increased the odds of a teen being pregnant.


CONCLUSIONS
The complex problems associated with pregnant runaway/homeless teens create challenges for short-term shelter services. Suggestions are made for extending shelter services to include referrals and coordination with teen parenting programs and other systems of care.
Thompson
Sanna J
SJ
School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78703, USA. SannaThompson@mail.utexas.edu
Bender
Kimberly A
KA
Lewis
Carol M
CM
Watkins
Rita
R
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D019992:Databases as Topic; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons; D018453:Homeless Youth; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations