Opening The Pregnancy Closet: An Assessment of Pregnancy Risk for Sexual Minority Female Youth

• In Event: 215 - Regular Session. Fertility 2

Abstract

This study investigates whether homosexual and bisexual sexual orientations are associated with increased odds of pregnancy among adolescent women, and which factors might explain this association. This study uses data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) from 2002, 2006-2010, and 2011-2013, including ACASI data, and restricts the sample to females ages 15-19. This study uses logistic regression models to determine odds of pregnancy by sexual orientation, using indicators of sexual identity, sexual attraction, and sexual behavior. The preliminary results of this study indicate that identifying as homosexual is associated with lower odds of pregnancy, whereas identifying as bisexual is associated with higher odds of pregnancy. The higher odds of bisexuality disappear when controlling for sexual risk variables, specifically age at sexual debut with a male, number of male sexual partners, and unwanted sexual debut with a male. The preliminary results on sexual attraction mirror those of identification. Having ever had sex with another woman is associated with higher odds of adolescent pregnancy; these results are suppressed with the addition of sexual risk variables. These preliminary results suggest that current studies on pregnancy risk should not combine homosexual and bisexual youth into a general “sexual minority” category. Furthermore, these results indicate that for women who are bisexual, sexual experiences with women might not replace sexual interactions with men, but instead add to them. This conclusion has critical implications for understanding the effects of sexuality on fertility outcomes.

Author

• Eliza Brown