Adolescent pregnancy decision-making: are parents important?

This paper examines the extent to which teenagers involve their parents in decision-making on the resolution of unwanted conceptions, even though legalization of abortion allows them to terminate their pregnancies without parental knowledge. Data were obtained from an anonymous questionnaire given to a Michigan-wide sample of women with unwanted conceptions. The part of the sample reported on here was 432 females who were less than 18 years old and unmarried at the time they became pregnant. It was found that although few adolescents consulted their parents when they first thought they might be pregnant, more than half did involve their mothers in pregnancy resolution decision-making. The findings indicate that the generation gap between parents and teenagers may be less than is often supposed.