Alan Guttmacher Institute National Survey of Contraceptive Use Among Women Having Abortions, 1987

Investigators: Stanley K. Henshaw, Jane Silverman, Jacqueline Darroch Forrest and Elise Jones

1987 Alan Guttmacher Institute National Survey of Contraceptive Use Among Women Having Abortions was a project aimed at producing reliable national estimates of contraceptive failure rates, corrected for the underreporting of abortions. Carried out in 1987, this project is a survey of abortion patients that was designed to fill the need for information on contraceptive use at the time of conception for pregnancies that ended in abortion. A total of 9,480 women who visited a provider to have an abortion in 1987 filled out questionnaires that asked about their recent contraceptive use and about the pregnancy being terminated. The inquiry also covered a variety of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics that parallel information obtained from National Survey of Family Growth respondents (see DAAPPP Data Set Nos. 26 and 27).

Alan Guttmacher Institute Survey of Reasons Women Choose Abortion, 1987-1988

Investigators: Aida Torres and Jacqueline Darroch Forrest

By means of a survey of abortion patients, the study addresses the question of why certain women elect to have an abortion. The study also examines why some women who have abortions obtain them fairly late in gestatiton. Nationally, 4% of abortions occur at 16 or more weeks of gestation. Medical data show that the normally low rates of complication and death associated with induced abortion increase substantially at later gestations. In addition, obtaining late abortions poses difficulties because they are more expensive, providers are fewer and harder to find, and many find late abortions more troubling than those performed early in gestation. This study investigates the social and demographic characteristics of women who have late abortions, problems related to access, and personal factors such as the ability to recognize signs of pregnancy.

Alternative High School Youth Risk Behavior Study, 1998

Investigators: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) is an epidemiologic surveillance system that was established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor the prevalence of youth behaviors that most influence health. The 1998 national alternative high school Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is one component of the YRBSS. The YRBS focuses on health-risk behaviors established during youth that result in the most significant mortality, morbidity, disability, and social problems during both youth and adulthood. These include: behaviors that result in unintentional and intentional injuries; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that result in HIV infection, other sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), and unintended pregnancies; dietary behaviors; and physical activity. Results from the Alternative High School YRBS are used by CDC to: (1) identify the prevalence and age of initiation of priority health-risk behaviors among students attending alternative high schools; and 2) identify the need for school health programs and policies for students attending alternative high schools. Four previous versions of the YRBS have been archived at Sociometrics. The 1992 survey (DAAPPP data set K9), the 1993 (data set M1), 1995 (data set N4), the 1997 (data set P5), and the 1999 (data set P7). Each of these data sets is cross-sectional.

Antecedents of Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behavior: Contextual Data Supplement to the 1976-1987 National Survey of Children

Investigators: Kristen A. Moore

An increasing number of studies have focused on the importance of contextual level influences on outcomes ranging from adolescent sexual behavior and teen pregnancy to educational attainment and delinquency. Although contextual variables constitute more distal influences than factors such as parenting styles and peer pressure, these "neighborhood" variables are reported to have substantial effects on individual outcomes. The data set, Antecedents of Sexual Attitudes and Behavior: Contextual Data Supplement to the 1976-1987 National Survey of Children, was created to examine the contextual predictors of adolescent sexual intercourse and teen attitudes about sex. Data from the 1976 and 1987 National Survey of Children (NSC) and other sources were assembled to assess neighborhoodand state-level demographic, economic, social, cultural and policy factors that influence adolescent sexual behavior. Zip code-level data were obtained from the NSC and the 1980 U.S. Census. State-level data were obtained from a variety of sources, including, the U.S. Census, State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, the Handbook of Labor Statistics, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Contextual variables included in this data set span the following categories: population; family structure; income and poverty; labor force participation; education; religion; marriage and divorce; voting behavior; substance use and crime; housing; teen deaths; women's status; birth rates, pregnancy, and abortion rates; neighborhood quality; and mobility.

Area-Level Data on the Impact of Family Planning Program Activity, Assembled by Centers for Disease Control: Blacks, 1980

Investigators: John Anderson & Lisa Cope

Fertility rates in the U.S. declined during the 1970's, both for teenages, 15-19, and all women, 15-44. Since the enactment of the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act in 1970 there have been large increases in both the number of family planning clinics in the U.S. and the number of women who receive their services. The aim of the Act was to give lowincome women access to effective contraception so that they could control their fertility and avoid unplanned births. The purpose of this study was to provide some evidence of the effectiveness of family planning programs in the U.S. as well as examine factors which influence family planning program enrollments. The study used multivariate areal analysis to assess the independent effect of family planning program enrollment in 1978 on the fertility of these groups of women in 1980. Two models were used in the study to assess the relationship between program enrollment rates and fertility rates. The first was a cross-sectional model that examined the relationship in 1980 and addressed the question of whether areas with higher levels of enrollment had lower levels of fertility, other factors being equal. The second model, a lagged-dependent variable model, included the same variables as the cross-sectional model but also controlled for past fertility levels by including 1970 fertility rates as well as the effect of unmeasured factors related to fertility.

Area-Level Data on the Impact of Family Planning Program Activity, Assembled by Centers for Disease Control: Whites and All Races, 1980

Investigators: John Anderson & Lisa Cope

Fertility rates in the U.S. declined during the 1970's, both for teenages, 15-19, and all women, 15-44. Since the enactment of the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act in 1970 there have been large increases in both the number of family planning clinics in the U.S. and the number of women who receive their services. The aim of the Act was to give lowincome women access to effective contraception so that they could control their fertility and avoid unplanned births. The purpose of this study was to provide some evidence of the effectiveness of family planning programs in the U.S. as well as examine factors which influence family planning program enrollments. The study used multivariate areal analysis to assess the independent effect of family planning program enrollment in 1978 on the fertility of these groups of women in 1980. Two models were used in the study to assess the relationship between program enrollment rates and fertility rates. The first was a cross-sectional model that examined the relationship in 1980 and addressed the question of whether areas with higher levels of enrollment had lower levels of fertility, other factors being equal. The second model, a lagged-dependent variable model, included the same variables as the cross-sectional model but also controlled for past fertility levels by including 1970 fertility rates as well as the effect of unmeasured factors related to fertility.

Baltimore Multigenerational Family Study: Family Processes of Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers, 1987-1988

Investigators: P. Lindsay Chase-Landsale, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, and Jennifer L. Matjasko

The Baltimore Multigenerational Family Study: Family Processes of Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers, 1987-1988 is a partial follow-up of the Baltimore Study of Adolescent Mothers begun twenty years ago by Frank Furstenberg and now in its fourth generation. The present study examines 136 African-American teenage mothers, their mothers, and their children in order to understand how family relationships affect the life prospects of the children of teen mothers. Data for this study were gathered by videotape, in-person interview, and psychological assessment. A total of 136 cases were surveyed. Of the 136 total cases, 103 cases contain full interview data; 99 cases contain complete data on all child outcome measures. This data set is comprised of separate data and documentation files for grandmothers (Data Set #M8-M9) and mothers (Data Set #N1-N2). All child outcome measures are included in Data Set #N1-N2. The grandmother's data file contains 1,039 variables; the mother's data file contains 1,210 variables.

Baltimore Study of Unplanned Teen Parenthood, 1966-1972

Investigators: Frank Furstenberg

This dataset includes information from four waves of interviews with 404 women who, in 1966, registered at the Sinai Hospital prenatal clinic. All were pregnant and under 18 at the time. The study, directed by Dr. Frank Furstenberg, began as an evaluation of a program designed to help teenage mothers. It was designed to be longitudinal in order to assess the lasting impact of the program. An adolescent's interview focused on occupational and marital career plans, impacts of the pregnancy, sexual patterns, birth control knowledge and experience, attitudes toward medical care, and information on family relations. A separate interview with the adolescent's mother also solicited personal background material about the family and the occupational careers of the parents. As the study continued, its goals expanded and eventually formally became "explore the process of adjustment to unplanned parenthood and to explain the divergent life patterns that occur as a consequence of an unscheduled birth." This is a rich and detailed dataset with 1,413 variables collected over five years. The longitudinal nature of the investigation makes this data set a unique source of information on what happens over time to teenage mothers and their families. The study is continuing to the present time, and data from later waves will be added to the archive as they become available. Note for users of DAAPPP Data Sets #01-B1DAAPPP data sets 01 through B1 are comprised of a User's Guide, SPSS syntax files (*.SPS or *.SPX) and raw data files only. Most of these datasets contain SPSS syntax files that use Job Control Language (JCL) from 1980s versions of SPSS-X. Because the syntax is old, the syntax files require editing to conform to the current syntax standards used by SPSS/Windows or SPSS/Unix. If you require technical assistance in using or editing these syntax files, please contact Sociometrics' Data Support Group at 800.846.3475 or socio@socio.com.

Birthweights of Infants Born in the Years 1970-1975 to Adolescent and Young Adult Women in Magee-Women's Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA

Investigators: Isabelle L. Horon, Donna M. Strobino, and Hugh MacDonald

This study involves a comparison of two groups each consisting of 422 primigravid mothers and their infants. The purpose of the research was to determine if adolescent women under the age of 16 had lower birthweight infants than women aged 20 to 24. The study found no basic differences in infant birthweight based upon the age of the mother. However, it did find infant birthweight differences related to other demographic factors. Those women who were white and those who had more economic buying power had infants with higher birthweights. Gestational age, pregnancy weight, weight change during pregnancy, and number of antepartum clinic visits were also associated with higher birth weight infants.

Boston City Hospital Study on Neonatal Outcome, 1977-1979

Investigators: Barry Zuckerman & Suzette Levenson

A study of maternal health and fetal development at Boston City Hospital provided an opportunity to explore whether infants born to adolescents exhibit poorer outcomes at birth than infants born to nonadolescents, and if the outcomes are poorer, whether adolescent status or other health habits or life situations are more predictive of those outcomes. This study was set up to assess whether adolescent and nonadolescent mothers varied on numerous maternal characteristics, labor and delivery events, and neonatal outcome measures. Outcome variables examined included length of gestation, infant size at delivery, and Apgar scores. The independent variables were: drug use (never, prepregnancy, or during pregnancy), prepregnancy weight, number of previous pregnancies, religious affiliation, race, history of prior maternal illnesses (e.g., hypertension, diabetes), number of miscarriages and abortions, risk factors (e.g., toxemia, epilepsy, anemia, accidents) during pregnancy, weight change during pregnancy, time of first prenatal visit (first, second, or third trimesters, or no prenatal care), daily coffee consumption, x-ray exposure during pregnancy, number of cigarettes smoked per day during pregnancy, marijuana use (never, prepregnancy, pre- and during pregnancy), education, number of meals per day, sex of infant, alcohol consumption (average daily drinks) prior to pregnancy and during pregnancy separately, and iron use. Additional variables include: whether the mother had premature rupture of the membrane, a Cesarian section, meconiumstained fluid, oxytocin (Pitocin)-induced labor, medications during labor, use and route of anesthesia, maternal fever, whether the infant had an abnormal presentation, or abnormal placenta, nuchal cord, decelerations, intubation, and forceps extraction. Further data on infant status, including congenital malformations and weight at birth, were also added.