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Since the teen pregnancy rate includes pregnancies not carried to term (miscarriage, still birth, abortion), the statistics to be more concerned with, one would think, are the actual birth rates.
In 2011, there were 31.3 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 329,797 babies born to females in this age group. Eighty-nine percent of these births occurred outside of marriage. Although the 2011 birth data are still considered preliminary, the estimated 2011 teen birth rate indicates a dramatic decline of eight percent from 2010 when the birth rate was 34.2 per 1,000.
Soooooo -- 31.3 births per 1,000 adolescent females equals an overall birth rate of 3.13%.
Since the teen pregnancy rate includes pregnancies not carried to term (miscarriage, still birth, abortion), the statistics to be more concerned with, one would think, are the actual birth rates.
Soooooo -- 31.3 births per 1,000 adolescent females equals an overall birth rate of 3.13%.
First of all I already corrected my statement. Second, the overall birth rate is not 3.13%. Good grief. Seems we all need a lesson in math! LOL! Our numbers are only based on 1,000 girls.
I'm still looking for an overall percentage. But found these numbers on the National Campaign on Teen Pregnancy site, page 2, "by Age Group" for the year 2010:
4,497 births to girls age 10-14
109,173 births to girls age 15-17
258,505 births to girls age 18-19
And here is an article discussing the U.S. rate of teen pregnancy compared to other countries and the reason/cause linking it to poverty and lack of economic opportunity. The author suggests that teens who fall into this category tend to not have sufficient educational or employment-related activities.
First of all I already corrected my statement. Second, the overall birth rate is not 3.13%. Good grief. Seems we all need a lesson in math! LOL! Our numbers are only based on 1,000 girls.
Seriously?
*I* don't need any math lessons, thank you very much. The study is NOT based on only 1,000 girls, rather the number of births PER EVERY 1,000 GIRLS.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaded
I'm still looking for an overall percentage. But found these numbers on the National Campaign on Teen Pregnancy site, page 2, "by Age Group" for the year 2010:
4,497 births to girls age 10-14
109,173 births to girls age 15-17
258,505 births to girls age 18-19
OK, you want overall percentages? Here ya go .....
The 2010 US Census says that the age groups you mentioned are present in the general population as follows:
Total girls 10-14: 9,783,000
Total girls 15-19: 10,196,000
So let's crunch the numbers.
For 10-14 year old girls: 4,497 births out of a total population of 9,783,000 = 4.59 x 10^-4, e.g. 0.000459 or a birth rate of 0.046%.
We'll have to combine the births for girls 15-19, since that's how the census is broken out, but 367,678 births out of a total population of 10,196,000 = 0.03606 or a 3.6% birth rate. (And that's pretty darned close to the 3.13% reported upthread.
.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 05-16-2013 at 01:05 PM..
Reason: Drat that scientific notation! (LOL)
Did you read the data in my link? Seriously? I stated we (the U.S.) have a teen pregnancy rate near 70%. From the site page, entitled Trends in Teen Pregnancies and Childbearing under "Teen Pregnancies." It's instead the number of pregnancies out of 1,000. It's still not a good number and nothing to brag about. So, out of 1,000 girls, nearly 117 girls dropped to nearly 70; out of only 1,000 girls. This is pretty high for teenagers.
Then it isn't PERCENT. Percent is out of one hundred. 70% would mean 700 out of 1000.
70 out of 1000 is 7%. Big difference from 70%.
So yes, a decline from nearly 12% to 7% is cutting it basically in half. It is MUCH better and yes it is a statistically significant improvement in one generation.
Almost all demographics are reported out of 1000s due to the need for significant figures.
I accept the notion that the teenage pregnancy rate has declined. Goodness, will all the efforts this country has made in terms of sex education, contraception, and legalizing abortion, teen pregnancies should be declining. I will simply make an analogy to crime statistics.
The violent crime has fallen substantially since 1994. That still doesn't mean murder, rape, kidnapping, and robbery are not serious problems that many in this country worry about everyday.
I don't expect teen pregnancy to ever disappear completely. However, I will think its fair to say its a minimal problem when those rates reach that of the European countries which are lower than our own.
I accept the notion that the teenage pregnancy rate has declined. Goodness, will all the efforts this country has made in terms of sex education, contraception, and legalizing abortion, teen pregnancies should be declining. I will simply make an analogy to crime statistics.
The violent crime has fallen substantially since 1994. That still doesn't mean murder, rape, kidnapping, and robbery are not serious problems that many in this country worry about everyday.
I don't expect teen pregnancy to ever disappear completely. However, I will think its fair to say its a minimal problem when those rates reach that of the European countries which are lower than our own.
Why would you expect them to ever reach the rates of countries who have universal health care, much better access to birth control, much lower levels of poverty, etc?
I accept the notion that the teenage pregnancy rate has declined. Goodness, will all the efforts this country has made in terms of sex education, contraception, and legalizing abortion, teen pregnancies should be declining. I will simply make an analogy to crime statistics.
The violent crime has fallen substantially since 1994. That still doesn't mean murder, rape, kidnapping, and robbery are not serious problems that many in this country worry about everyday.
I don't expect teen pregnancy to ever disappear completely. However, I will think its fair to say its a minimal problem when those rates reach that of the European countries which are lower than our own.
Certainly, one can agree that it is still a problem. At the same time, it seems like things are going in the right direction.
However, as lkb pointed out, there are other reasons why other countries have lower rates and one seriously needs to look at those reasons.
These links show rates in other countries as well as reasons, cultural or otherwise, why rates are higher in some countries than others.
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