Crosby Richard A, Holtgrave David R
College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0003, USA.
J Adolesc Health. 2006 May;38(5):556-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.05.031.
To investigate whether social capital may explain differences in teen pregnancy rates in the contiguous United States.
State-level correlational analyses were conducted. Predictor variables included social capital, income inequality, and poverty.
State-level rates of pregnancy for girls 15-19 years old.
In bivariate analyses, social capital was inversely correlated with teen pregnancy rates. The obtained correlation was strong (r = -.78) and achieved significance (p < .001). Poverty and income inequality were also significantly correlated with teen pregnancy rates, but the magnitude of these correlations was lower. In a linear regression model, poverty failed to retain significance; however, income inequality achieved significance and produced a Beta value of .24 (p = .017). Social capital was nonetheless a much stronger multivariate predictor of teen pregnancy rates (producing a Beta value of -.672).
Findings from this state-level analysis suggest that social capital may explain differences between states with respect to teen pregnancy rates. Thus, social capital may play an important role in the prevention of teen pregnancy. This initial finding warrants subsequent empirical investigations designed to identify strategies that can be employed to foster the creation of social capital in communities and entire states.
调查社会资本是否可以解释美国相邻各州青少年怀孕率的差异。
进行州级相关性分析。预测变量包括社会资本、收入不平等和贫困。
15 - 19岁女孩的州级怀孕率。
在双变量分析中，社会资本与青少年怀孕率呈负相关。所得相关性很强（r = -0.78）且具有统计学意义（p < 0.001）。贫困和收入不平等也与青少年怀孕率显著相关，但这些相关性的程度较低。在一个线性回归模型中，贫困未能保持统计学意义；然而，收入不平等具有统计学意义，且产生的β值为0.24（p = 0.017）。尽管如此，社会资本仍是青少年怀孕率更强的多变量预测因素（产生的β值为 -0.672）。
这项州级分析的结果表明，社会资本可能解释各州之间青少年怀孕率的差异。因此，社会资本可能在预防青少年怀孕方面发挥重要作用。这一初步发现值得后续进行实证研究，以确定可用于促进社区和整个州社会资本创建的策略。
