title: The paradox of homeless youth pregnancy: a review of challenges and opportunities.
abstract: Compared to their housed counterparts, homeless youth become pregnant at exceptionally high rates. Causes of such pregnancies are multifaceted, while a paradoxically high proportion of these pregnancies are intended. This review discusses causes and risk factors associated with homeless youth pregnancies, and notes experiences of pregnancy decision-making discord, challenges encountered during and following pregnancy, and difficulties faced by homeless youth when or if they become parents. Because homeless youth face a wide array of unique risks, future research would benefit from exploring alternative approaches to prevention to reduce pregnancies and improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes among this population.
authors.affiliation: a Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver , Denver , Colorado , USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Begun
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018453:Homeless Youth / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: homeless youth; pregnancy prevention; pro-pregnancy attitudes