It is expected that this study’s results will be used to help teenagers and their families best adapt to the teenager’s transition to motherhood. Dr. Patricia East, the study’s lead investigator, has worked to start other state-wide programs, such as California’s Adolescent Sibling Pregnancy Prevention Program (started in 1996). The California Sibling Program was designed to reduce the incidence of adolescent pregnancy among the siblings of pregnant and parenting teens, a population known to be at very high risk of teenage pregnancy and births.

See the following link for more information about the California Adolescent Sibling Pregnancy Prevention Program or for a program near you.

http://www.mch.dhs.ca.gov/programs/children

Dr. East conducted the evaluation of the California Adolescent Sibling Pregnancy Prevention Program, which involved over 1500 predominantly Hispanic 11- to 17-year-old siblings of pregnant and parenting teens. Evaluation results indicated that female program clients had a significantly lower pregnancy rate than comparison females over the evaluation period (4% vs. 7%), as well as a lower rate of sexual initiation (7% vs. 16%) and a lower rate of school truancy. Results also showed that youths’ risk of early pregnancy was highest for those who had many sisters who became pregnant as a teen.

The full evaluation report can be found at:

http://www.mch.dhs.ca.gov/documents/pdf/finalexpandedsummary.pdf

A published report of the evaluation results can also be found in the March/April 2003 issue of Perspectives of Sexual and Reproductive Health and is available here.