United States: Lesbian and bisexual teens at risk for pregnancy

Off Our Backs, Jul 1999

United States: lesbian and bisexual teens at risk for pregnancy

According to a study by researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, lesbian, bisexual and questioning adolescent women are at higher risk for unwanted pregnancy than straight adolescents. Lesbian and bisexual adolescents are also at a higher risk for physical and sexual abuse than their straight and questioning counterparts.

According to the study, lesbians and bisexual women are about as likely as heterosexual women to engage in heterosexual intercourse, yet have a 12.3 percent pregnancy rate, compared with 5.3 percent for heterosexual women and 6.1 percent for questioning women.

The study, which appeared in the May/June issue of Family Planning Perspectives, included data from 3,816 females ages 12 to 19 who completed the 1987 Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey. Five percent identified as lesbian or bisexual, 46 percent were unsure of their sexual orientation, and 49 percent identified as heterosexual.

Incidence of physical abuse among lesbians and bisexual women is 19.3 percent, with 11.9 percent of straight and 11.4 percent of questioning women reporting physical abuse. Incidence of sexual abuse among lesbians and bisexual women is 22.1 percent, while the reported rate among straight and questioning adolescent women is 15.3 and 13.4 percent, respectively. Similar rates of abuse have been found in other studies of lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescents.

Lesbian and bisexual youth have a slightly higher rate of homelessness than their straight and questioning counterparts. As with many homeless youth, prostitution becomes a main means of survival. Lesbians and bisexual women report a 5.9 percent rate of prostitution, while 0.7 percent of straight women and 1.4 percent of questioning women report engaging in prostitution.

The study's authors hypothesize that the higher prevalence of sexual assault, and heterosexual relations in early adolescence contribute to higher rates of unwanted pregnancy among lesbian and bisexual teens.

The implications of the findings are far-reaching. Practitioners who provide reproductive health care to adolescents need to remain aware that their pregnant clients may not be heterosexual, and that lesbian and bisexual women may benefit from sensitively-delivered birth control information. An awareness of physical and sexual abuse, homelessness, prostitution, and ineffective use of contraceptives needs to be part of a holistic approach to health care for lesbian and bisexual adolescents.

-- info from The Washington Blade, 7/2/99