Fertility and Fertility-Related Behavior Among Mexican-American and Non-Hispanic White Female Adolescents

• Published in: Journal of health and social behavior Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 56 - 76
• Main Authors: Aneshensel, Carol S., Fielder, Eve P., Becerra, Rosina M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Sociological Association 01-03-1989
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adolescents; Adult; Births; Contraception Behavior; Ethnic Groups; European Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Female; Females; Fertility; Fertility rates; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic Americans - psychology; Hispanics; Humans; Los Angeles, California; Mexican Americans; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority Groups; Parents; Population; Pregnancy; Pregnancy in Adolescence; Pregnancy rate; Sexual Behavior; Sexual intercourse; Social dating; Social research; Socioeconomics; White people; Whites; Women; Americas; United States; North America; Socioeconomic Factors; Abortion, Induced; Fertility Control, Postconception; Ethnic Groups; Fertility; Population Characteristics; Population; Research Report; Behavior; Demographic Factors; Premarital Sex Behavior; Cultural Background; Adolescent Pregnancy; Reproductive Behavior; Whites; Family Planning; Economic Factors; Northern America; Developed Countries; Sex Behavior; Hispanics; Population Dynamics
• ISSN: 0022-1465; 2150-6000
• DOI: 10.2307/2136913

Ethnic differences in fertility-related behavior are examined in a community-based probability sample of 706 Mexican-American and 317 non-Hispanic white females aged 13 through 19 years. Mexican-Americans are more likely than whites to have had a live birth, but are no more likely to have been pregnant and are less likely to have had sexual intercourse. Sexually experienced Mexican-Americans, however, are twice as likely as whites to have been pregnant. Among those ever pregnant, Mexican-Americans are more likely to have had a live birth, while whites are more likely to have had an abortion. Ethnic differences remain strong when socioeconomic status and indicators of social instability are controlled statistically, lending more support to the "minority status" hypothesis than to the "characteristics" hypothesis concerning the fertility-related behavior of minority group members.