Dating male gang members means: Teenager girls more likely to get pregnant!

A study released in the May 2009 edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology, followed 237 sexually active females 14 to 19 years of age. They were predominantly from Latino Neighborhoods in San Francisco and examined the relationships between gang exposure and pregnancy for a two-year period between 2001 and 2004.


According to Dr. Alexandra Minnis, PhD at the RTI International, the University of California San Francisco and the University of North Carolina, “The significant role of partner’s gang membership in increasing pregnancy risk highlights the importance of addressing the reproductive health needs of gang involved youth.

The researchers found that girls’ gang membership did not affect their risk of pregnancy, but girls with gang-affiliated boyfriends were twice as likely to become pregnant as their peers. Girls whose boyfriends spent time in jail were also more likely to become pregnant.

Over the length of the study, more than one-fourth (27.4%) of the participants became pregnant. The results found that pregnancy intentions particularly of male partners, played a significant role in the incidence of pregnancies.

Minnis suggests that there may be increased perceived social pressures for gang involved youth to have a baby and the belief that pregnancy strengthens the commitment between couples or influences the status of females within a relationship are strong with gang-involved couples.

Additional women with gang-involved partners may feel less power to negotiate condom use.

Because of this the increased risk of sexually active females in this area posses a serious risk for sexually transmitted infections.