Teen Sexuality and Pregnancy - Homosexuality

Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation and Youth, a pamphlet for school personnel put together by several organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics,

FIGURE 7.7

FIGURE 7.8

the American Psychological Association, and the National Education Association, stressed that sexual orientation is one aspect of the identity of adolescents—not a mental disorder. According to the publication, sexual orientation is developed across a lifetime and along a continuum; in other words, teens are not necessarily simply homosexual or heterosexual, but may feel varying degrees of attraction to people of both genders. The pamphlet stressed that gay, lesbian,

TABLE 7.3

Percentage distribution of women obtaining abortions, by demographic characteristics, 1994 and 2000
	Women having abortions		Women aged 15–44, 2000	Abortion rate*			Pregnancies, 2000
Characteristic	2000	1994		2000	1994	% change	Rate†	% ending in abortion
*Number of abortions per 1,000 women in relevant subgroup.
†Sum of births and abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44.
‡Differs from previously published figures, which were based on state abortion reports.
§Denominator is women aged 40–44.
**Includes separated women.
††Based on single women only.
‡‡Percentage of federal poverty level.
§§Previously published AGl estimates of abortion rates by poverty status (reference 1) were inaccurate because of a programming error.
*†Previously published for Hispanics (references 1 and 7) have been adjusted according to state abortion reports.
*‡Limited to women older than 19.
*§Limited to women older than 17. u = unavailable.
SOURCE: Rachel K. Jones, Jacqueline E. Darroch, and Stanley K. Henshaw, "Table 1. Percentage Distribution of Women Obtaining Abortions in 2000 and 1994, and of All U.S. Women Aged 15–44 in 2000; Estimated Abortion Rates for 2000 and 1994, and Percentage Change in the Rate between the Two Years; and Pregnancy Rate and Proportion of Pregnancies Ending in Abortion in 2000—All by Selected Characteristics at Outcome," reproduced with the permission of The Alan Guttmacher Institute from "Patterns in the Socioeconomic Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions in 2000–02," Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, New York, AGI, vol. 34, no. 5, September/October 2002, p. 228, http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3422602.pdf (accessed September 16, 2004
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	21	24	−11	87	25
Age
<15	0.7	1.2	u	u	u	u	u	u
15–19	18.6	20.6	16.0	25	34‡	−27	72	34
15–17	6.5	8.8	9.5	15	24‡	−39	42	35
18–19	12.0	11.5	6.5	39	48‡	−18	119	33
20–24	33.0	32.8	15.1	47	52	−9	159	29
25–29	23.1	21.4	15.6	32	32	0	153	21
30–34	13.5	14.4	16.5	17	18	−5	112	16
35–39	8.1	7.5	18.5	9	10	3	50	19
≥40§	3.1	2.3	18.4	4	3	10	11	31
Marital status
Married	17.0	18.4	47.7	8	9	−14	99	8.
Previously married**	15.6	17.1	11.5	29	32	−11	67	43
Never-married	67.3	64.4	40.8	35	41	−14	79	45
Cohabiting‡‡
Yes	30.7	20.5	18.7	55	57	−3	u	u
No	69.3	79.5	81.3	29	36	−20	u	u
No. of live births
0	39.1	45.4	42.8	19	26	−25	81	24
1	27.4	24.7	18.0	32	33	−2	151	22
≥2	33.5	29.9	39.2	18	18	2	64	28
Residence
Metropolitan	88.0	88.5	78.8	24	27	−11	u	u
Nonmetropolitan	12.0	11.5	21.2	12	13	−10	u	u
Poverty status‡‡
<100%	26.6	25.4	12.8	44	36§§	25	133	33
100–199%	30.8	24.4	17.5	38	31§§	23	115	33
200–299%	18.0	18.9	17.9	21	25§§	−13	87	24
≥300%	24.6	31.3	51.8	10	16§§	−39	66	15
Medicaid coverage
Yes	24.2	26.5	9.0	57	50	14	u	u
No	75.8	73.5	91.0	18	20	−12	u	u
Race/ethnicity
Non-Hispanic
White	40.9	48.0	68.2	13	16	−20	73	18
Black	31.7	30.0	13.7	49	54	−8	115	43
Asian/Pacific Islander	6.4	4.4	4.4	31	28	11	88	35
Native American	0.9	1.2	0.9	u	u	u	u	u
Hispanic	2.1	16.5*†	12.8	33	37*†	−10	132	25
Education*‡
Not H.S. graduate	12.7	12.0	11.2	23	22	7	85	27
H.S. graduate/GED	30.3	30.4	30.9	20	20	1	73	27
Some college	40.6	40.3	32.5	26	29	−12	68	38
College graduate	16.4	17.3	25.5	13	19	−30	63	21
Religion*§
Protestant	42.8	37.4	51.0	18	17	10	u	u
Catholic	27.4	31.3	27.5	22	25	−13	u	u
Other	7.6	7.6	5.4	31	30	2	u	u
None	22.2	23.7	16.2	30	46	−35	u	u

and bisexual adolescents face prejudice and discrimination that negatively affect their educational experiences and emotional and physical health. Their legitimate fear of being hurt as a result of disclosing their sexuality often leads to a feeling of isolation. All of these factors account for lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents' higher rates of emotional distress, suicide attempts, risky sexual behavior, and substance use. The authors stress the need for school personnel to be as open and accepting as possible in order to support these adolescents.