title: Do depressive symptoms in male and female adolescents predict unintended births in emerging adulthood?
abstract: Unintended birth and mental health are major public health problems in the United States. To date, little research has examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and unintended births, and no research has examined this relationship among men. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (N = 14,271) were used to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms among females and males in adolescence and unintended first birth in emerging adulthood. Respondents who reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in adolescence were more likely to report an unintended birth (OR 1.93, p < 0.001) compared with respondents who did not have children. They were also more likely to report an unintended birth compared with respondents who had an intended birth (OR 1.28, p < 0.05). The relationship between adolescent depressive symptoms and unintended birth remained significant, controlling for background variables, and it did not differ by gender. Adolescent depressive symptoms are associated with unintended birth in emerging adulthood. Thus, policies designed to treat depressive symptoms in adolescence may be effective in reducing unintended pregnancy among young adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Colorado Boulder, 327 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA, laurie.hawkins@colorado.edu.
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: James-Hawkins
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Denardo
authors.forename: Casey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blalock
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mollborn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067697:Adolescent Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned / Q000523:psychology*; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult