Abstract
This article uses vital statistics relating to births by Canadian mothers between 1992 and 1994 to examine the distribution of age of father by age of mother at the birth of the child. Over 77% of births to teenage mothers involved males who were older than the mother.
At the time of birth of the child, the mean difference between age of the teenage mother and the father was 4.1 years, compared with a mean of 2.6 years for all mothers and fathers. For mothers below the age of 18 years, 37% of partners were within 2 years of the woman’s age, 39% were 3 to 5 years older, and 24% were six or more years older.
Family planning and sex education programs directed at the prevention of teenage pregnancy, especially if these programs are given in the elementary or high school system, would not necessarily reach older males, who make up the majority of partners in teenage pregnancies.
Résumé
Le présent article examine la distribution d’âge du père selon l’âge de la mère à la naissance de l’enfant au moyen des statistiques de l’état civil sur les mères canadiennes qui ont accouché entre 1992 et 1994. Pour plus de 77 % des naissances de mères adolescentes, le père était plus âgé que la mère.
À la naissance de l’enfant, la différence d’âge moyenne entre la mère adolescente et le père était de 4,1 ans, contre 2,6 ans pour l’ensemble des mères et des pères. En ce qui concerne les mères de moins de 18 ans, la différence d’âge entre les deux partenaires était inférieure à deux ans dans 37 % des cas, se situait entre trois et cinq ans dans 39 % des cas et s’établissait à six ans ou plus dans 24 % des cas.
La planification familiale et les programmes d’éducation sexuelle qui ont pour but de prévenir le problème de la grossesse chez les adolescentes ne rejoignent pas nécessairement les hommes plus âgés, qui représentent la majorité des partenaires des adolescentes concernées, surtout lorsqu’ils sont dispensés à l’école primaire ou secondaire.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Males M, Chew KY. The ages of fathers in California adolescent births, 1993. Am J Public Health 1996;86(4):565–68.
Landry DJ, Forrest JD. How old are US fathers? Family Planning Perspectives 1995;27(4):159–61, 165.
Menken J. The health and demographic consequences of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing. In: Chilman C (Ed.): Adolescent Pregnancy and Childhearing. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981;167–68.
Committee on Sexual Offenses Against Children and Youth. Sexual Offenses against Children, Volume 1. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services, 1984.
Williamson N. Sexual health and STD prevention. In: Stephens T, Fowler GD (Eds.), Canada’s Health Promotion Survey 1990: Technical Report. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1993;195–210.
Santé Québec. Enquête québécoise sur les facteurs de risque associés au SIDA et aux MTS: la population des 15–29. Québec: Gouvernement du Québec, 1992.
The McCreary Centre Society. Peters L, Murphy A (Eds.), Adolescent Health Survey: Province of British Columbia. Richmond, British Columbia: New Leaf Computer Publishing and Printing Corporation, 1993.
Expert Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee on Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Children and Youth. Final Report and Recommendations. Ottawa: Health Protection Branch, Health Canada, 1991.
Canadian Public Health Association. Mandatory Sexual Health Curriculum in Canadian Schools (motion carried at CPHA Annual General Meeting, July 1992) Health Digest 1992;16(3).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Millar, W.J., Wadhera, S. A Perspective on Canadian Teenage Births, 1992–94: Older men and Younger Women?. Can J Public Health 88, 333–336 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03403901
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03403901