Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #109501

Richard Crosby, PhD, MA, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky, 121 Washington Ave., Lexington, KY 40506-0003, 859-257-5678, crosby@uky.edu and David Holtgrave, PhD, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE, Room 540, Atlanta, GA 30322.

Objective: To investigate whether social capital may explain differences in teen pregnancy rates in the contiguous United States. Methods: State-level correlational analyses were conducted. Predictor variables included social capital, income inequality, and poverty; outcome variables were state-level rates of pregnancy for girls 15 to 19 years of age. Results: In bivariate analyses, social capital was inversely correlated with teen pregnancy rates. The obtained correlation was strong (r = -.78) and achieved significance (P < .001). Poverty and income inequality were also significantly correlated with teen pregnancy rates, but the magnitude of theses correlations was lower. In a linear regression model, poverty failed to retain significance; however, income inequality achieved significance and produced a Beta value of .24 (P = .017). Social capital was nonetheless a much stronger multivariate predictor of teen pregnancy rates (producing a Beta value of -.672). Conclusion: Findings from this state-level analysis suggest that social capital may explain differences between states with respect to teen pregnancy rates. Thus, social capital may play an important role in the prevention of teen pregnancy. This initial finding warrants subsequent empirical investigations designed to identify strategies that can be employed to foster the creation of social capital in communities and entire states.

Learning Objectives:

• Audience members will be able to identify and describe the potential interventions applications that could stem from the observed relationship between social capital and teen pregnancy.
• Audience members will be able to identify potential policy-level interventions that could stem from the observed relationship between social capital and teen pregnancy.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Pregnancy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.