Previous research suggests
that, in general, youth who become pregnant during their teenage years tend to
report elevated levels of substance use prior to conception and substantial
reductions in use during pregnancy. While such studies provide insight into
aggregate patterns of adolescent substance use in relation to pregnancy, they
may have the unintended effect of masking the behavioral heterogeneity of
pregnant teens.
The present study employs data from a large,
population-based study of adolescents in the United States. We employ latent
class analysis to identify subgroups of pregnant adolescents (ages 12-17;
n = 810) on the basis of variables measuring the past 12-month and past
30-day use of an extensive array of substances.
Results revealed a four
class solution. Classes were identified as
- Class 1: Abstainers (42.47 %),
- Class 2: Drinkers (37.41 %),
- Class 3: Alcohol and Cannabis Users (9.51 %), and
- Class 4: Polydrug Users (10.62 %).
The Polydrug Users class had the highest
proportion of youth who were in late adolescence (75.58 %), non-Hispanic
white (54.65 %), high-income (13.95 %), and in their first trimester
of pregnancy (58.33 %).
Findings point to an important
degree of heterogeneity among pregnant teens and may have implications for the
development of interventions designed for youth exhibiting disconcerting
patterns of substance use prior to pregnancy.
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By:
- 1School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd D3500, Austin, TX, 78712-0358, USA. salaswright@utexas.edu.
- 2School of Social Work, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- 3School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd D3500, Austin, TX, 78712-0358, USA.
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