Teens in the United States are far more likely to give birth than in any other industrialized country in the world. U.S. teens are two and a half times as likely to give birth as compared to teens in Canada, around four times as likely as teens in Germany or Norway, and almost 10 times as likely as teens in Switzerland. Among more developed countries, Russia has the next highest teen birth rate...

BACKGROUND Despite recent declines in teen birth rates, teenage pregnancy remains an important public health problem in Wisconsin with significant social, economic, and health-related effects. OBJECTIVE Compare and contrast teen birth rate trends by race, ethnicity, and county in Wisconsin. METHODS Teen (ages 15-19 years) birth rates (per 1000 teenage females) in Wisconsin from 2001-2010 we...

Using a unique microsimulation tool, Teen FamilyScape, the present study explores how changes in the mix of contraceptive methods used by teens contributed to the decline in the U.S. teen pregnancy rate between 2002 and 2010. Results indicate that changes in contraceptive use contributed to approximately half of the decline in the teen pregnancy rate during this time period (48%) and that a lit...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which effects of exposure to a brief intervention designed to increase parental restrictions on teen driving privileges persisted over time. DESIGN A total of 658 parents and their 16 year old adolescents were recruited from a local motor vehicle administration (MVA) site as adolescents successfully tested for provisional lice...

OBJECTIVE Parenting may be an important protective factor against teen driving risk; however, parents do not limit teen driving as much as might be expected. The Checkpoint Program was designed to promote parental management of teen driving through the use of staged persuasive communications. METHODS Parent-teen dyads (n = 452) were recruited when teens received learner's permits and intervie...

The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends person-to-person interventions intended to modify adolescents' risk and protective behaviors by improving their caregivers' parenting skills, on the basis of sufficient evidence of effectiveness in reducing adolescent risk behaviors. These interventions, conducted face-to-face or by telephone, occur outside of clinical settings.

OBJECTIVES Although a number of population-based studies have examined the characteristics of teens who attempt to quit smoking, few have identified the characteristics of youth who participate in structured cessation interventions, particularly those with demonstrated effectiveness. The purpose of the present study is to describe the sociodemographic and smoking-related characteristics of teen...

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression (PPD) is a mood disorder that affects 10-20 percent of women, and can begin any time during first year after delivery lasting for months. Social support may decrease risk of depression during pregnancy for women. However, literature shows that the amount of social support received during and after pregnancy is different for teen mothers and adult mothers. This s...