Teen Pregnancy among Bisexual Adolescent Females

Shoshana K. Goldberg, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bianka Reese, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Several studies have now shown that sexual minority females, variously “defined” by identity or biological sex of partners, are more likely to experience a teen pregnancy. However, work to date has not been based on nationally representative samples. We examine the association between adolescent females’ partnering patterns before age 18 (different-sex partners only [DS; referent], both same-sex and different-sex partners [SS/DS], no pre-18 partners [NO]) and the likelihood of a teen pregnancy using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. In an unadjusted model, respondents (Rs) reporting SS/DS partnering before age 18 had marginally (p<.10) higher odds of experiencing a teen pregnancy compared with Rs who reported exclusively DS partnering. However, the association was not significant in subsequent models controlling for demographic characteristics and childhood sexual abuse. Possible contributors to these findings and their implications will be further discussed in the full paper.