SISTERS OF TEEN MOTHERS - INCREASED RISK FOR ADOLESCENT PARENTHOOD

Study Objective: We examined the hypothesis that sisters of adolescent mothers are at increased risk for early parenthood compared with other adolescents living in a matched census tract, in the City of Boston, and in other areas of the state of Massachusetts. Setting: The setting was the Young Parents Program (YPP), a multidisciplinary clinic for adolescent mothers and their children, located at Children's Hospital, Boston. Participants: Seventy-eight consecutive adolescent mothers followed in YPP were interviewed, and data were collected on 112 sisters of teen mothers over a 48-month period. Complete information was obtained on only 88 (78.6%) sisters due to clinic attrition. Interventions: Data on the teen sisters were collected by trained interviewers from both a structured interview of consecutive adolescent mothers at intake into YPP, and 24 months and 48 months after intake. Medical records of the teen sisters were also reviewed. Main Outcome Measures: Data collected included number of births to the teen sisters and age at first birth. Birth rates were standardized to births for 15-19-year-olds/1,000 person-years and compared to matched census tract, City of Boston, and Massachusetts birth rates. Odd ratios were calculated. Results: By 24 months after the YPP mother had reached 12 weeks gestation, the birth rate of the previously nulliparous sisters, 15-19 years old, was 138.5/1,000 person-years. Compared to birth rates for the matched census tract, the City of Boston, and Massachusetts, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for births in the sisters were 3.0 (1.5-6.1), 3.9 (1.9-7.9), and 6.4 (3.2-13.0), respectively. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that the sisters of adolescent mothers are at increased risk for premature parenthood. This may be due either to exposure to a pregnant or parenting sister or to common risk factors. These theories of etiology and potential interventions are discussed.