Family Planning Perspectives Volume 33, Number 2, March/April 2001 |
Manifestations of Poverty and Birthrates Among Young |
Table 1. Mean value (and standard deviation) of selected characteristics, and bivariate analysis of relationship between these characteristics and birthrate among females aged 15-17, all within selected California zip codes. | ||||
Characteristic | Mean (SD) | Bivariate relationships | ||
r | b | p | ||
Birthrate | ||||
Per 1,000 females aged 15-17 | 43.4 (26.4) | na | na | na |
Income/poverty | ||||
% of population living below poverty level | 13.4 (8.9) | .802 | 2.38 | .000 |
Median household income (in $000s) | 36.2 (12.7) | -.718 | -1.49 | .000 |
% of households receiving public assistance | 10.9 (7.1) | .754 | 2.80 | .000 |
% of households with family income >$150,000 | 2.3 (4.1) | -.469 | -3.03 | .000 |
Educational level* | ||||
% with college degree | 27.5 (13.8) | -.749 | -1.44 | .000 |
% with high school diploma but no college | 22.8 (5.2) | .049 | 0.25 | .092 |
Employment | ||||
% of males employed | 69.4 (9.6) | -.377 | -1.04 | .000 |
% of females employed | 52.4 (8.8) | -.576 | -1.74 | .000 |
% of males unemployed | 5.5 (2.5) | .752 | 7.81 | .000 |
% of females unemployed | 4.2 (2.0) | .686 | 8.96 | .000 |
% of females in armed forces | 0.2 (1.0) | -.066 | -1.78 | .023 |
Ethnicity | ||||
% black | 8.0 (13.4) | .360 | 0.71 | .000 |
% Hispanic | 28.6 (22.6) | .664 | 0.78 | .000 |
% non-Hispanic white | 53.2 (27.6) | -.676 | -0.65 | .000 |
Female marital status | ||||
% never married | 24.3 (6.8) | .401 | 1.56 | .000 |
% never married§ | 64.9 (10.0) | -.072 | -0.19 | .013 |
% divorced | 9.4 (3.0) | .138 | 1.23 | .000 |
Housing | ||||
% of households owned with >1 person/room | 7.7 (7.0) | .607 | 2.29 | .000 |
% of households rented with >1 person/room | 16.3 (9.8) | .714 | 1.93 | .000 |
*Among those aged >=25. Among those aged >=16. Among those aged >=15. §Among those aged 15-25. Notes: Statistics are provided for zip codes with at least 200 females aged 15-17 during the 1991-1996 period. The mean, standard deviation and bivariate correlations are weighted proportional to the number of 15-17-year-old females living in the zip code during the time period. na=not applicable. SD=standard deviation. r=bivariate correlation. b=unstandardized regression coefficient. p=probability value. |
Table 2. Results from stepwise regression analyses predicting young-teenage birthrates with selected zip code characteristics (N=1,192) | ||||
Characteristic | R2 change* | b | SE | p |
of population living below poverty level | .644 | 1.54 | .086 | .000 |
% with college degree | .077 | -0.80 | .051 | .000 |
% of females employed | .013 | 0.22 | .090 | .016 |
% of males employed | .002 | 0.19 | .066 | .005 |
% of females aged 15-25 who were never married | .005 | -0.18 | .046 | .000 |
% black | .002 | 0.13 | .036 | .000 |
% Hispanic | .002 | 0.09 | .029 | .001 |
*Based upon entry into the model using stepwise regression. Notes: All analyses are weighted by the number of females aged 15-17 in each zip code during the period 1991-1996, such that the total N remained 1,192. R2=multiple correlation coefficient. b=unstandardized regression coefficient. SE=standard error. p=probability value. |
Table 3. Results from stepwise regression analyses predicting young-teenage birthrates with selected zip code characteristics for each racial and ethnic group, by racial and ethnic group | |||
Characteristic | b | SE | p |
Black (N=300) | |||
% living below poverty level | 1.06 | 0.21 | .000 |
% with college degree | -1.12 | 0.36 | .002 |
% of males employed | 0.16 | 0.42 | .705 |
% of males unemployed | -0.98 | 1.50 | .514 |
% of females unemployed | 4.08 | 1.61 | .012 |
% black | -0.16 | 0.05 | .003 |
Hispanic (N=780) | |||
% living below poverty level | 1.36 | 0.12 | .000 |
% with college degree | -2.98 | 0.30 | .000 |
% of males employed | 1.53 | 0.22 | .000 |
% of males unemployed | 1.33 | 1.08 | .219 |
% of females unemployed | -1.93 | 1.10 | .078 |
% Hispanic | -0.36 | 0.04 | .000 |
Non-Hispanic white (N=1,042) | |||
% living below poverty level | 0.82 | 0.11 | .000 |
% with college degree | -0.53 | 0.04 | .000 |
% of males employed | -0.31 | 0.10 | .001 |
% of males unemployed | 2.42 | 0.79 | .002 |
% of females unemployed | 2.96 | 0.93 | .001 |
% non-Hispanic white | -0.16 | 0.18 | .000 |
Notes: All analyses are weighted by the number of females aged 15-17 in each zip code during the 1991-1996 time period, such that the total N remained the same. b=unstandardized regression coefficient. SE=standard error. p=probability value. |
© copyright 2001, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. |