"Best Bets" to Prevent Pregnancies and Births:
Live in Higher-Income, Low Crime Communities

Several recent studies found that teens living in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and racial segregation have higher rates of non-marital and teenage childbearing than teens who live in communities with higher SES levels (Brewster, 1994a; Brewster, Billy, & Grady, 1993; Hogan & Kitagawa, 1985). Papillo (2000) found that a higher median household income in the community was associated with a reduced risk of a birth throughout adolescence. Additionally, Sucoff and Upchurch (1998) found that black female adolescents living in under-class (low SES) and working-class black neighborhoods were more likely to have a birth than black female adolescents living in working-class racially mixed neighborhoods, after controlling for family background characteristics.

High levels of community crime may reflect a breakdown of social norms that, in turn, may be associated with teenage reproductive health behaviors. Urban teens, who grew up in more violent environments, may be more likely to engage in high risk sexual behaviors, thus affecting teen childbearing. Billy et al. (1994) found among a national sample of non-black females aged 15-19 that as crime rates increased the likelihood of having premarital sex also increased. Other research on school crime suggests that higher levels of perceived crime in school is associated with a greater likelihood of adolescent fertility (Chandy et al., 1994; Moore et al., 1998).