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Suggested Citation:"Foreword." National Research Council. 1987. Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing, Volume II: Working Papers and Statistical Appendices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/946.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Foreword." National Research Council. 1987. Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing, Volume II: Working Papers and Statistical Appendices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/946.
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Suggested Citation:"Foreword." National Research Council. 1987. Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing, Volume II: Working Papers and Statistical Appendices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/946.
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Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Foreword." National Research Council. 1987. Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing, Volume II: Working Papers and Statistical Appendices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/946.
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Page R10

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Foreworc] Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing are matters of substantial na- tional concern. Even the analysis and description of these phenomena, much less prescriptions for altering present trends, are highly controver- sial. And it is all too easy to avoic] or to deal only obliquely with issues that arouse so many deep-seated emotions and convictions. There is, nonethe- less, broad agreement that the personal and public costs resulting from unintended pregnancies and untimely birth are far too high to counte- nance an indifferent response. Discontinued educations, reduced employ- ment opportunities, unstable marriages (if they occur at all), low incomes, and heightened health and developmental risks to the children of adoles- cent mothers are a few of the most obvious and immediate personal costs. Sustained poverty, frustration, and hopelessness are all too often the long- term outcomes. Furthermore, the welfare, Medicaid, ant] Food Stamp program costs in 1985 for families begun by a birth to a teenager reached $16.65 billion. Programs and services to prevent pregnancy and improve the life chances of teenage parents and their children have appeared in increasing number since the mid-1970s, frequently stirring up powerful or vocal advocates and opponents. An ever more impassioned debate has drawn public, private, voluntary, and philanthropic organizations into a continu- ing pursuit for "solutions" to the perceived problems. Yet, after more than a decade of experience, there seemed to many observers an imbalance in emphasis between what people believed and what policy makers, professionals, and society in general knew about the impacts and cost- effectiveness of alternative prevention and amelioration strategies in light .. v`'

viii FOREWORD of better scientific knowledge about early sexual ant] fertility behavior. There seemed to be clistressingly little discussion about how various interventions work, for whom, uncler what circumstances, ant] with what intencleci ant] unintenclec] effects. Anc] what were the most promis- ing directions for future policy ant] program development? In 1983, at the urging of several of its members, the Committee on Chilc] Development Research ant] Public Policy within the National Research Council proposer} the establishment of a stucly pane} to conduct a broac] anc3 dispassionate review of relevant research ant! program experi- ence ant] to recommend approaches for policy formulation, program design, research, and evaluation. In 1984, with generous support from five foundations" the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, anc] the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation the Pane] on Aclolescent Pregnancy ant] Childbearing began its stucly. Over a two-year period, this broacIly interclisciplinary 15-person pane} and its staff and consultants undertook three major tasks: (~) to assemble, integrate, and assess ciata on trencis in teenage sexual and fertility behavior; (2) to review anc] synthesize research on the antecedents ant] consequences of early pregnancy and childbearing; and (3) to review alternative preventive ant] ameliorative policies and programs. In meeting its charge, the pane] cleveloped two volumes. Volume presents the panel's finclings, conclusions, and recommendations. De- tailed background reviews of existing research on factors affecting the · · ~ · , · ~ n~t~at~on ot sexua Intercourse, contraceptive use, pregnancy ant preg- nancy resolution, and the consequences of teenage pregnancy, chilcibear- ing, and parenting for young mothers, fathers, and their children, as well as the costs ant! effects of policies and programs, constitute Volume TI. Also includes! in Volume I! is a comprehensive statistical appendix present- ing data from a variety of sources on trends in teenage sexual and fertility behavior. Throughout Volume ~ the pane] refers to the papers anc] the statistical appendix in Volume II to support its cleliberations. The pane] based its stucly on both existing information ant} new analyses of existing data. These sources were supplementec] by workshops anc] incliviclual discussions with many federal, state, and local policy makers, program designers, service providers, anc} evaluators, as well as site visits to a variety of programs across the nation. In accordance with institutional policy, this report has been extensively anc] thoroughly reviewer] by incli- vicluals other than members of the stucly panel. · · . .. . ~.

FOREWORD ix In recent years, many other individuals and groups representing an array of moral, philosophical, and political perspectives have addressed the complex and controversial issues surrounding adolescent pregnancy. Many have developed recommendations and guidelines for policy makers, service providers, parents, and aclolescents themselves. This report is one step in a continuing process of inquiry, review, and synthesis. As a scientific body, the Panel on Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing sought to clarify the issues, sharpen awareness of crucial decision points, and define the limits of existing knowledge. Although science cannot resolve issues that are inextricably bound to differences in human values, it can illuminate the trade-offs among different political and ideological positions, and we believe this report will inform the continuing public debate. On behalf of the members of the parent Committee on Child Develop- ment Research and Public Policy, ~ would like to acknowledge the special contribution of Daniel D. Federman, who served as panel chair. His commitment of time, energy, and intellectual resources over the past two years has been extraordinary. In large part, the success of this study is due to his exquisite leadership. Acknowledgment is also due to the other members of the Pane] on Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing. All gave generously of their time and knowledge throughout the study. As a diverse group of inclividuals, they are to be commended for producing a unanimous report on a topic that inevitably raises public controversy and · · . stirs persona convictions. The members of the panel join the committee in extending our great appreciation to the staff of the study. Cheryl D. Hayes, the study director for the panel as well as the parent committee, once again demonstrates} the enormous energy, outstanding thoroughness, and great skill for which she is well known to many of us. Special thanks go also to Celia Shapiro, staff assistant to the committee and the panel, for her tireless attention to administrative detail throughout the study and for her patience and persis- tence in assembling the references for the two volumes. We gratefully acknowledge the significant contribution of Sandra L. Hofferth of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, who au- thored many of the research reviews that informed the panel's delibera- tions and coedited Volume I} of the report. The efforts of Dee Ann Wenk of the University of Kentucky, who served as statistical consultant and worked with members of the panel and the staffin compiling the data and preparing the numerous tables and figures that appear in the report and the

x FOREWORD statistical appendix, are also gratefully acknowledged. Margaret A. Ens- minger and Donna M. Strobino, both of Johns Hopkins University, served as consultants and authored thoughtful background papers that are included in Volume Il. Finally, Christine L. McShane, editor for the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, edited the report with a critical eye and managed the final production of the volumes. The pane] has also benefited from the contributions of several individ- uals who prepared special tabulations of existing data to help it address a number of difficult issues that remain unresolved in the available research. Special thanks are due Frank Mott of the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State University, William Pratt, Marjorie Horn, Chris- tine Bachrach, and Stephanie Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, and Stanley Henshaw of the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Many other individuals played an important role in the panel's deliberations by providing information, critical analysis, advice, and reviews of the draft report and the draft background papers. Their thoughtful comments and insights are reflected in the final manuscripts. Finally, this study would not have been possible without the generous support of our foundation sponsors. On behalf of the Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy, ~ would like to extend special thanks to Mary Kritz of the Rockefeller Foundation, Prudence Brown of the Ford Foundation, Anne Firth Murray of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Paul Jellinek of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Marilyn Steele of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Their encouragement and advice greatly enhanced the study at every stage. WILLIAM A. MORRILL, Chair Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy

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More than 1 million teenage girls in the United States become pregnant each year; nearly half give birth. Why do these young people, who are hardly more than children themselves, become parents? The statistical appendices and working papers for the report Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing provide additional insight into the trends in and consequences of teenage sexual behavior.

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