Teens Whose Parents Are Divorced Have a Greater Chance of Experiencing a Premarital Pregnancy Than Teens With Married Parents.

Teens whose parents stay together are only half as likely to experience a premarital pregnancy as teens from divorced families.

• A recent study in the Journal of the Institute for Youth Development found that teens from divorced families are more likely to experience a premarital pregnancy than teens whose parents stay together. The study observed 93 premarital pregnancies among more than 1,200 Boston-area highschoolers.  Of these, 57% were terminated, 25% resulted in live births, and 18% were miscarriages. The average age that the premarital pregnancy occurred was 18.5 years. The study found that teens who are under the age of 16 when their parents divorce are nearly twice as likely to experience a premarital pregnancy than teens whose parents remain married. Researchers found that youth from divorced families are at a greater risk for premarital pregnancy because of their involvement in sexual relationships at a young age. These teens are also susceptible to premarital pregnancy due to lower levels of attachment to school.¹

¹The Impact of Parental Divorce on Premarital Pregnancy, Journal of the Institute for Youth Development, 2007, pp. 1-10.