The Effect of a Peer's Teen Pregnancy on Sexual Behavior / Priyanka Anand, Lisa B. Kahn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anand, Priyanka.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Kahn, Lisa B.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w31228.

NBER working paper series no. w31228

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023.

Summary:

In this paper, we examine whether a friend or older sibling's teen pregnancy impacts one's own sexual behavior. We exploit high-frequency data on sexual activity from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and the sharp timing of the end of a peer's pregnancy to analyze the evolution of sexual behavior. We find that those who observe a peer's teen pregnancy change their sexual behavior after the event to put themselves at lower risk of their own teen pregnancy; specifically, they are less likely to have unprotected sex and have fewer sexual partners in the months following the end of the teen pregnancy. We find that females are more likely to change their sexual behavior after the end of a peer's teen pregnancy compared to males, and the effects are larger after observing a peer's teen pregnancy that results in a live birth. Our work suggests that connecting youth personally with the experiences of teen parents is a promising avenue for teen pregnancy prevention campaigns.

Notes:

Print version record

May 2023.