51% Latinas and teen pregnancy.

THE PROGRESS THE NATION has made in reducing teen pregnancy has been breath-taking. The teen pregnancy rate in the United States has declined 36 percent since 1990, and the teen birth rate has plummeted by one-third since 1991. Even more encouraging, adolescent pregnancy and childbearing have declined in all 50 states and among all racial and ethnic groups. This good news makes clear that progress on difficult social issues is possible--that commitment, attention and action can help solve a problem many once considered intractable.

Despite these impressive gains, the reductions in adolescent pregnancy and childbearing have been neither even nor uniform. Too many teens are still becoming parents, and nowhere is the problem more acute than in the Latino community.

The numbers are startling. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy estimates that 51 percent of Latina teens get pregnant at least once before age 20--nearly twice the national average. Moreover, the Latina teen pregnancy rate is declining at half the pace of the overall national rate, and some states are reporting rising rates of Latina teen pregnancy and childbearing. Latinas have the second-highest rate of teen pregnancy (second to African-Americans) and the highest teen birthrate among major ethnic and racial groups in the U.S.--nearly two times higher than the national average.

The consequences of early pregnancy and childbearing are well-documented and manifest. Teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of other critical social problems--poverty, lack of overall child well-being, out-of-wedlock births, irresponsible fatherhood, health concerns, education gaps. There are substantial public costs associated with adolescent childbearing. Simply put, if more children in this country were born to parents who were ready and able to care for them, we would see a significant reduction in a host of social problems afflicting children in the U.S., from school failure and crime to child abuse and neglect. Or, in the words of Janet Murguia, president and chief executive officer of the National Council of La Raza, "High teen pregnancy rates are robbing our young women of too many opportunities--the opportunity to go to college, the opportunity to start a rewarding career and the opportunity to fulfill their dreams for a better future."

WHY HAS PROGRESS BEEN MADE?

If further progress is to be made in reducing teen pregnancy in the Latino community, a good place to start is by examining what has worked to date. Although they are usually left off the praise train, it is teens themselves who deserve the credit for the declines in teen pregnancy. Clearly, more young people now recognize the importance of using adolescence as a time for growing up, having fun and getting an education, rather than experiencing early pregnancy and parenthood, and are acting accordingly. Researchers agree that a combination of less sex and more contraception has contributed to the overall declines in teen pregnancy and childbearing. That is, more young people--including Latina teens--are waiting until they are older to have sex, and more sexually active teens are using contraception more consistently and carefully.

Given the exceedingly high rates of teen pregnancy in the Latino community, and given what we know about progress made in reducing these rates, what can be done to foster continued progress? Here are a few modest ideas:

Parents. Latino parents need to know that when it comes to young people's decisions about sex, parental influence has not been lost to peers and popular culture--a conclusion supported by over two decades of social science research. Parents are powerful, and they can use their power in sound, helpful ways. Among Latino teens, 46 percent of boys and 51 percent of girls say parents most influence their decisions about sex, according to a new national survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Even so, Latina teens (63%) are less likely than their peers (74% of white and 66% of black teens) to say they have had helpful conversations with their parents about delaying sex and avoiding teen pregnancy. And fully three-quarters of Latinos (73% of adults and 75% of teens) believe that parents send one message about sex to their sons and a different message to their daughters.

Abstinence and contraception. Teen pregnancy rates have declined because of less sex and more contraception. To reduce still-high rates of teen pregnancy in the Latino community, we must help Latino teens understand the value of delaying sexual activity and continue to underscore the critical importance of sexually active teens' using contraception each and every time they have sex. Seven in 10 Latino adults and teens wish teens were getting more information about abstinence and contraception.

Messages. Many practitioners who work directly with Latino teens say little has been done to craft teen pregnancy prevention messages specifically for Latinos. Too often, interventions and messages created for a general audience are simply translated into Spanish. Many who work with Latino teens and adults note that teen pregnancy-prevention messages are often misunderstood as anti-children messages. We should be certain that our messages are crystal clear: Children are a blessing; the question is one of timing. For the most part, in this country, at this time, teens are simply not prepared to take on the demanding task of raising the next generation.

Religion. Religious organizations are in a unique and powerful position to help prevent teen pregnancy among Latinas. More than eight in 10 Latino teens--a considerably higher rate than among black or white teens--agree that religious leaders and groups should be doing more to prevent teen pregnancy, and the majority of Latino adults agree. Although many Latinos belong to churches whose leaders discourage contraceptive use, very few Latino adults (1%) or teens (2%) cite religious beliefs as a primary reason teens do not use contraception when they have sex.

Motivation. Delaying sexual activity and using contraception consistently and carefully are both tall orders that require motivation. If teens aren't thinking about the risk of pregnancy, they are unlikely to plan actively to avoid pregnancy. Unfortunately, half of Latina teens and six in 10 Latino teens say they have never really thought about what their lives would be like if they got pregnant or got someone pregnant as a teen. Because 51 percent of Latina teens get pregnant by age 20, it is clear that we as a nation need to do a better job of helping Latino teens to think about the risks and consequences of early sexual activity and act accordingly. Boys also need to know that teen pregnancy affects them--we need to talk with boys, not just girls, about responsibility, sex, love and values.

Something to say yes to. Research and common sense indicate that supervised after-school, evening and weekend activities, such as community service activities and sports, give teens a positive alternative to other, more risky activities, as well as providing opportunities for supportive friendships. It is reasonable to believe that expanding these sorts of activities will further help reduce teen pregnancy in the Latino community.

The role of poverty. Of course, no discussion of teen pregnancy in the Latino community would be complete without recognizing the connection to poverty. Not surprisingly, poverty is both a cause and consequence of teen pregnancy. The truth is that the Latino community disproportionately suffers from a variety of troubling social indicators, including lower educational attainment and a higher proportion of children living in poverty. Although poverty and lack of education help teen pregnancy, we should recognize that preventing teen pregnancy and parenthood advances education and reduces poverty. With a continuation of the progress made to date in preventing early pregnancy and parenthood, more Latino teens will have the opportunity to get an education, participate in the workforce and build strong families.

CELEBRATING SUCCESS, MOTIVATING FOR COMMON GOALS

Given high rates of teen pregnancy in the Latina community, the comparatively slow decline in teen pregnancy among Latinas and the anticipated growth in the number of Latino teens, continued progress in reducing adolescent pregnancy and parenthood will not take place without a targeted focus on the Latino community. Our collective efforts in helping Latino teens safely navigate adolescence should focus on motivation and on giving young people something to say yes to.

In particular, we should help young people set goals for the future and promote educational achievement. Research and common sense say young people who have goals for the future and a clear and specific sense of how to achieve those goals are far less likely than their peers to have unplanned pregnancies or become parents at an early age. We should ask teens what they hope to accomplish and help them understand what they need to do to get there, and should make clear that choices made today can affect directly the goals they want to achieve. We should promote educational attainment, tutor and mentor those who need such help and encourage all young people to participate in community service projects. And, of course, we must never forgot to celebrate the countless successes of Latino teens.

What the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is Doing

An important, though modest, part of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy's work over the last 11 years has been supporting community leaders, parents and families in Latino communities in their efforts to reduce teen pregnancy. But still-high rates of teen pregnancy in the Latino community make clear that more work is needed. The organization recently launched a new program of more intense, highly tailored work with Latino communities. With the help of leading and respected Latino organizations such as the National Council of La Raza, an advisory group composed of leaders in the Latino community such as Daisy Exposito-Ulla, media partners such as Latina magazine and congressional champions such as Rep. Hilda Soils (D-CA), the initiative's components will include:

* strengthening the research base for action;

* building on the organization's ongoing work with Latino-oriented entertainment media, Latino faith communities and policy-makers, and building key partnerships with organizations that reach large numbers of Latino families;

* offering assistance and advice to help ensure that programs for teens have access to highly effective and culturally appropriate experts and resources; and

* meeting with public and private funding communities to educate them on the critical nature of this issue, and encouraging them to fund efforts to prevent teen pregnancy in the Latino communities.

Visit www.teenpregnancy.org/espanol/initiative.asp to read more about this initiative and to read or order the new research publication from the National Campaign, Voices Heard: Latino Adults and Teens Speak Up About Teen Pregnancy, by Erika Vexler.

BILL ALBERT is the deputy director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, where he has worked since September 1997.