Birth control experience among pregnant adolescents:

The process of unplanned parenthood.

by Furstenberg, Frank F.

Social Problems. Vol. 19(2), Fal 1971, 192-203.  

  

Questions the common assumption that premarital pregnancy is specially motivated. It is contended that pregnancy is usually the unanticipated outcome of sexual activity. If this is so, it becomes important to investigate why birth control is not used more often to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Results of research on a sample of 337 unmarried black teenagers indicates that experience with birth control was strongly related to the way sex was viewed by their mothers. Moreover, the influence of the family appears to be conditional on the nature of the male-female relationship; contraceptives were most often used by couples who maintained an ongoing relationship. It appears that only in such relationships is it possible for a girl to benefit from her mother's instructions and exert influence on her sexual partner.