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Teenage Fertility Rate
The Teenage Fertility Rate is the birth rate for women 15 to 19 years of age.
Calculation of the teenage fertility rate is identical to the general
fertility rate except that it uses data for women 15 to 19 years of age.
In 1996, for example, there were 7,016 births to Arkansas women 15 to 19 years
of age. There were an estimated 85,766 women of that age resident in the
state that year. Therefore, the Teenage Fertility Rate = (7,016 / 85,766) X
1,000 = 81.8 live births per 1,000 women 15-19 years of age. The comparable
rate for the nation as a whole was 54.7 in 1996. As with the general
fertility rate, the calculation excludes all induced abortions, fetal deaths,
and spontaneous abortions.
The average teenage fertility rate for the period of 1992 through 1996 was
78.0. Teenage fertility rates are highest in eastern Arkansas in the
Mississippi Delta region. Phillips County had the highest average fertility
rate for women 15-19 years of age at 137.8 while Faulkner County had the
lowest at 41.8. Health Management Areas 9 and 7 in the Delta region had the
highest average teen fertility rates, with Area 9 by far the highest at 112.5,
followed by Area 7 with 85.8. The lowest rate, 64.0, was in Area 4, followed
by Area 3 at 64.5, and Area 10 at 65.1.
Both the Arkansas and the U.S. teenage fertility rates rose consistently in
the late 80's but began to decline in the early 90's. The national rate has
continued to decline since 1991. The Arkansas teenage fertility rate,
however, declined from 1991 to 1993, then began to increase again in 1994.
While in 1995 the rate showed a slight decline, in 1996 the Arkansas rate
reached a high of 81.8.
Like the general fertility rate, the teenage fertility rate differs
significantly by race. The teenage fertility rate for White teens for the
1992-1996 period was 66.0, compared to 122.3 for Black teens.
Similarities between the state's general fertility rate and the teenage
fertility rate are generally to be expected, since births to Arkansas women
aged 15 through 19 typically constitute almost one-fifth of all resident
births. Moreover, the same social and economic factors which affect the
general fertility rate may be assumed to be reflected in the teen fertility
rate, as well. In 1996, both rates showed an increase from their 1995 levels.
Detailed age/sex specific population estimates are not always readily
available for many geographic areas. Without the population estimates, it is
not possible to calculate a general or teenage fertility rate. Instead,
tabulations of teenage births as a percent of all births are sometimes
published. The reader should be cautioned that such percents are affected by
the age distribution of the population and the fertility of adult women, as
well as by the fertility of teenage women. Consequently, teenage births as a
percent of all births is a statistic which should be used only when the
calculation of fertility rates is not possible.
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