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Adolescent reproductive knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs and future fatherhood
While there is a growing focus on the importance of men’s reproductive health--including preconception health--the ways in which young men’s knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB) predict their reproductive paths are understudied. Fatherhood and residency status are two distal outcomes that may be predicted by earlier KAB.
Objective: To determine if adolescent reproductive KAB predicts fatherhood status and residency.
Methods:
Reproductive KAB and fatherhood outcomes were analyzed from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a 20-year, nationally representative study of individuals from adolescence into adulthood. Reproductive KAB was assessed during adolescence in Waves I and II. A generalized linear latent and mixed model predicted fatherhood status (non-father, non-resident or resident father) measured at all four waves accounting for typical covariates.
Results:
Of the 10,263 males, 3425 were fathers (686 non-resident/2739 resident). Motivations to engage in risky sexual behavior scores ranged 10-50; a greater score increased the odds ratio of becoming a non-resident father by 30% and increased the odds ratio of becoming a resident father by 7%. Perceived pregnancy attitudes scores ranged 2-10; a greater score was related to an increase of 20% in the odds ratio of becoming a non-resident father and an 11% increase in the odds ratio of becoming a resident father. Birth control self-efficacy scores ranged 3-18; a greater score was related to a decrease in the odds ratio of becoming a non-resident father by 28%, but it was not statistically significantly related with the odds of becoming a resident father. Attitudes towards birth control scores ranged 7-35; the scale was not statistically significant for either non-resident father or resident fathers (OR=1.10,p=0.061; OR=1.00,p=0.904).
Conclusion:
Young men’s KAB in adolescence predicts their future fatherhood and residency status. Interventions to educate and support these at-risk adolescents may offer downstream benefits for them and their families.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health educationPlanning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Identify attitudes or beliefs about reproduction in adolescent men that put them at risk for certain future fatherhood outcomes.
Determine which reproductive attitudes in adolescence predict a fatherhood from a life course perspective.
Keyword(s): Men’s Health, Reproductive Health
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a principal investigator and physician for over 20 years on multiple federally funded grants focusing on men's health, fathers and fatherhood, male adolescence and the interaction of fathers and families and children.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.