An ’’Epidemic’’ of Adolescent Pregnancy?: Some Historical and Policy Considerations

305 Pages·1987·15.64 MB·English

by  Maris A. Vinovskis

AN "EPIDEMIC" OF
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY?
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AN "EPIDEMIC" OF
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY?
Some Historical and
Policy Considerations
Maris A. Vinovskis
New York Oxford
Oxford University Press
1988
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York Toronto
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Copyright © 1988 by Maris A. Vinovskis
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vinovskis, Maris.
An "epidemic" of adolescent pregnancy?
Includes index. 1. Adolescent mothers—United States.
2. Pregnancy, Adolescent—United States—History.
3. Pregnancy, Adolescent—Government policy—United States. I. Title.
HQ759.4.V55 1988 362.7'96 87-11075
ISBN 0-19-504997-7
Portions of this book previously appeared in: "Young Fathers and Their Children: Some
Historical and Policy Perspectives," in Adolescent Fatherhood, Arthur B. Elster and Michael E.
Lamb, eds. (Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1986), 171-192, reprinted by permission of
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; "An Epidemic of Adolescent Pregnancy? Some Historical Con-
siderations," Journal of Family History VI, No. 2 (Summer 1981), 205-230, reprinted by
permission of JAI Press, Inc.; and School-Age Pregnancy & Parenthood: Biosocial Dimensions,
Jane B. Lancaster and Beatrix A. Hamburg, eds. (Hawthorne, N.Y.: Aldine De Gruyter, Inc.,
1986).
987654321
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To John N. Erlenborn and
James H. Scheuer,
for the opportunity to serve on the
Select Committee on Population and for
demonstrating that even controversial
population issues can be resolved on a
bipartisan basis if one cares enough.
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Acknowledgments
This book represents nearly a decade of work and reflection during
which I have incurred many debts. Some of the chapters were
initially researched and drafted while I was on a fellowship from
the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Additional
financial support was provided by the Taubman Program in Ameri-
can Institutions at the University of Michigan.
I am particularly indebted to John Erlenborn and James
Scheuer for first giving me the opportunity to deal with the issue
of adolescent pregnancy on the U.S. House Select Committee on
Population. This work was continued and expanded as a consul-
tant to the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs. Marjory
Mecklenburg, the Director of that program, and Ernest Peterson,
her deputy, provided invaluable assistance and friendship that I
will never forget.
Early drafts of some of the chapters were presented at several
national academic conferences as well as at seminars at Case West-
ern Reserve University, Harvard University, the University of
Michigan, and the University of North Carolina. I am grateful to
all of the participants at these sessions for their helpful comments.
J. Brooks-Gunn, Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Frank Furstenberg,
Jr., Carl Kaestle, Jeffrey Mirel, Ernest Peterson, James Reed, and
Carl Schneider read the entire manuscript of an earlier version of
the book and made many excellent criticisms and observations.
While I have not been able to incorporate all of their suggestions,
the present manuscript is unquestionably much better because of
their involvement.
Susan Vanderkloot, my teaching and research assistant in the
Taubman Program in American Institutions, deserves the highest
praise. She twice read and edited carefully the entire book. With-
out her extraordinary and dedicated assistance, this book could not
have been completed.
viii Acknowledgments
The staff at Oxford University Press have been exemplary in
their production of this volume. Nancy J. Evans did an excellent
job of copyediting the manuscript. I am especially indebted to
Sheldon Meyer for his support and encouragement throughout this
project.
Finally, I want to acknowledge, as always, the help I received
from Mary and Andy. Their willingness to tolerate the disruptions
in our family life by my involvement in Washington made this book
possible. In their own ways, each of them has contributed signifi-
cantly to helping me understand better how difficult it is to be a
caring parent or a child growing up in today's world.
Contents
Introduction xi
Chapter 1 Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and
Childbearing in Early America: Some
Preliminary Speculations 3
Chapter 2 An "Epidemic" of Adolescent Pregnancy?
The Reactions of the Carter Administration
and the 95th Congress from an Historical
Perspective 22
Chapter 3 The Origins and Development of the Office
of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs 47
Chapter 4 The Parental Notification Controversy 87
Chapter 5 Reassessing the Impact of a Parental
Notification Requirement: Some Conceptual
and Methodological Observations 131
Chapter 6 Young Fathers and Their Children: Some
Historical and Policy Perspectives 157
Chapter 7 Evaluations of Care Programs for Pregnant
Adolescents and Young Mothers 180
Chapter 8 Conclusion 211
Notes 218
References 254
Index 274