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Do Depressive Symptoms in Male and Female Adolescents Predict Unintended Births in Emerging Adulthood?

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Abstract

Unintended birth and mental health are major public health problems in the United States. To date, little research has examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and unintended births, and no research has examined this relationship among men. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (N = 14,271) were used to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms among females and males in adolescence and unintended first birth in emerging adulthood. Respondents who reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in adolescence were more likely to report an unintended birth (OR 1.93, p < 0.001) compared with respondents who did not have children. They were also more likely to report an unintended birth compared with respondents who had an intended birth (OR 1.28, p < 0.05). The relationship between adolescent depressive symptoms and unintended birth remained significant, controlling for background variables, and it did not differ by gender. Adolescent depressive symptoms are associated with unintended birth in emerging adulthood. Thus, policies designed to treat depressive symptoms in adolescence may be effective in reducing unintended pregnancy among young adults.

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Acknowledgments

This project received funding and administrative support from the University of Colorado Population Center, which is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant NICHD R21 HD051146). It uses data from Add Health, a program project directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and funded by Grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Colorado Boulder, 327 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Laurie James-Hawkins, Danielle Denardo & Stefanie Mollborn

  2. Westat, Rockville, MD, USA

    Casey Blalock

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  1. Laurie James-Hawkins
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  2. Danielle Denardo
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  3. Casey Blalock
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  4. Stefanie Mollborn
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Correspondence to Laurie James-Hawkins.

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James-Hawkins, L., Denardo, D., Blalock, C. et al. Do Depressive Symptoms in Male and Female Adolescents Predict Unintended Births in Emerging Adulthood?. Matern Child Health J 18, 2115–2123 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1459-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1459-2

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