Historically, teenage pregnancy rates in the US and UK are higher than those of other developed nations. A third of girls in the US become pregnant before they reach the age of 20 (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2006). Earlier research found 82 per cent of these teen pregnancies were unintended. Consistent with this high teen pregnancy rate is the high teen birth rate (40 births per 1,000 for 15- to 19-year-old females in 2005.
These teen pregnancies and births generally have negative consequences for those involved, especially when the girls are younger than 18 (Hoffman, 2006). Girls in this group are less likely to complete high school or attend college and are more likely to have large families and be single parents.
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