Skip to main content
PMC home page
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 1991 Sep-Oct;106(5):494–502.

A racial and ethnic comparison of family formation and contraceptive practices among low-income women.

S E Radecki 1
PMCID: PMC1580311  PMID: 1910183

Abstract

Low-income women's histories of pregnancies, their use or nonuse of contraception, and their marital status showed racial and ethnic differences in family formation patterns and fertility control practices. Data were analyzed from a survey of 918 low-income women in Los Angeles County. The sample contained about equal numbers of non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Hispanics. The use of stratified samples equalized the poverty-level composition of the three racial and ethnic groups. First pregnancies for white and black women resulted primarily from nonuse of contraception while unmarried, but almost half of first pregnancies among Hispanics were intentional. Marital dissolution following pregnancy or childbearing was common among low-income whites and blacks, but Hispanics were more likely to have an intact marriage along with a higher average parity. Analyses of histories of pregnancies while controlling for demographic characteristics showed that racial and ethnic differences in rates of different types of pregnancies (classified as intended, accidental, or unprotected) and rates of abortion did not remain significant after adjustment for respondent characteristics and years of exposure to possible pregnancy. Actual parity, however, remained significant when these factors were controlled. Thus, results document distinctive patterns of family formation for low-income women in racial and ethnic subgroups of this population. Implications of these patterns of family formation for economic well-being are discussed.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aneshensel C. S., Becerra R. M., Fielder E. P., Schuler R. H. Onset of fertility-related events during adolescence: a prospective comparison of Mexican American and non-Hispanic white females. Am J Public Health. 1990 Aug;80(8):959–963. doi: 10.2105/ajph.80.8.959. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aneshensel C. S., Fielder E. P., Becerra R. M. Fertility and fertility-related behavior among Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white female adolescents. J Health Soc Behav. 1989 Mar;30(1):56–76. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Darabi K. F., Ortiz V. Childbearing among young Latino women in the United States. Am J Public Health. 1987 Jan;77(1):25–28. doi: 10.2105/ajph.77.1.25. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dryfoos J. G. Contraceptive use, pregnancy intentions and pregnancy outcomes among U.S. women. Fam Plann Perspect. 1982 Mar-Apr;14(2):81–94. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Forrest J. D., Singh S. The sexual and reproductive behavior of American women, 1982-1988. Fam Plann Perspect. 1990 Sep-Oct;22(5):206–214. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Forrest J. D. The end of IUD marketing in the United States: what does it mean for American women? Fam Plann Perspect. 1986 Mar-Apr;18(2):52–57. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Goldscheider C., Uhlenberg P. R. Minority group status and fertility. AJS. 1969 Jan;74(4):361–372. doi: 10.1086/224662. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hofferth S. L., Moore K. A. Early childbearing and later economic well-being. Am Sociol Rev. 1979 Oct;44(5):784–815. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hoffman S. D., Duncan G. J. What are the economic consequences of divorce? Demography. 1988 Nov;25(4):641–645. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Johnson N. E. Minority-group status and the fertility of black Americans, 1970: a new look. AJS. 1979 May;84(6):1386–1400. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Jones E. F., Forrest J. D. Contraceptive failure in the United States: revised estimates from the 1982 National Survey of Family Growth. Fam Plann Perspect. 1989 May-Jun;21(3):103–109. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Michael R. T., Tuma N. B. Entry into marriage and parenthood by young men and women: the influence of family background. Demography. 1985 Nov;22(4):515–544. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Minkler D. H., Korenbrot C., Brindis C. Family planning among Southeast Asian refugees. West J Med. 1988 Mar;148(3):349–354. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Mosher W. D., Bachrach C. A. First premarital contraceptive use: United States, 1960-82. Stud Fam Plann. 1987 Mar-Apr;18(2):83–95. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Mosher W. D. Contraceptive practice in the United States, 1982-1988. Fam Plann Perspect. 1990 Sep-Oct;22(5):198–205. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mosher W. D. Fertility and family planning in the United States: insights from the National Survey of Family Growth. Fam Plann Perspect. 1988 Sep-Oct;20(5):207–217. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. O'Connell M., Rogers C. C. Out-of-wedlock births, premarital pregnancies and their effect on family formation and dissolution. Fam Plann Perspect. 1984 Jul-Aug;16(4):157–162. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Radecki S. E., Bernstein G. S. An assessment of contraceptive need in the inner city. Fam Plann Perspect. 1990 May-Jun;22(3):122-7, 144. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Radecki S. E., Bernstein G. S. Use of clinic versus private family planning care by low-income women: access, cost, and patient satisfaction. Am J Public Health. 1989 Jun;79(6):692–697. doi: 10.2105/ajph.79.6.692. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Stephen E. H., Rindfuss R. R., Bean F. D. Racial differences in contraceptive choice: complexity and implications. Demography. 1988 Feb;25(1):53–70. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES