Success By Six: Teen Birth Rate

Allen County Calculated Age/Race Specific Birth Rates for 2000

ALLEN COUNTY, all races	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Teen births total: ages 10-19	644	619	516	545	580	551
ages 10-14	8	4	6	10	9	11
ages15-17	204	203	142	182	157	152
ages 18-19	432	412	368	353	414	388
Percent of total births that were to teenage mothers	12.4%	11.5%	10.0%	10.6%	10.9%	10.4%

ALLEN COUNTY, White race	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Teen births total: ages 10-19	453	409	351	372	390	368
ages 10-14	3	3	3	5	1	5
ages15-17	130	118	81	118	87	96
ages 18-19	320	288	267	249	302	267
Percent of white total births that were to white teenage mothers	10.5%	9.2%	8.1%	8.6%	9.1%	8.4%

ALLEN COUNTY, Black race	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Teen births total: ages 10-19	186	198	156	163	181	176
ages 10-14	4	1	3	5	8	5
ages15-17	73	82	56	60	68	54
ages 18-19	109	115	97	98	105	117
Percent of black total births that were to black teenage mothers	25.0%	24.3%	22.1%	22.2%	23.5%	22.8%

ALLEN COUNTY, Hispanic*	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Teen births total: ages 10-19	68	54	61	74	72	67
ages 10-14	1	1	0	1	1	2
ages15-17	20	19	19	25	21	15
ages 18-19	47	34	42	48	50	50
Percent of Hispanic total births that were to Hispanic teen age mothers	18.8%	13.3%	15.4%	18.0%	15.3%	13.9%
*Note: Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race. This data is a subset of the data given above by race. (Source for all birth data by race by age is available from the Indiana State Department of Health, Table 29 of the annual Natality Reports, with the exception of the Hispanic data which is not currently available through the annual reports. ISDH Data Analysis Section provided this data to CRI upon request.)

There were 5,295 births to Allen County residents in 2005.

Source: Indiana State Department of Health
Note: Allen County Resident Births

NUMBER OF BIRTHS BY RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN, ALLEN COUNTY:
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
White	4,327	4,435	4,332	4,346	4,392	4,363
Black	743	816	705	735	770	772
Other*	143	120	124	130	167	160
TOTAL	5,213	5,371	5,161	5,211	5,329	5,295
Hispanic**	361	407	395	411	472	479

Source: Indiana State Department of Health
*Note: "Other" is not a race, but is the sum of all births other than white and black.
**Hispanic is an ethnic group, not a race, and although broken out in the table above, it is a subset of the races shown. For more information, see the Demographic Chapter.

Allen County has a relatively high crude birth rate¹ when compared to Indiana, and the age-specific birth rate² for the age group 15-17 has been higher for Allen County than the State . The rates are shown in the tables below.

CRUDE BIRTH RATES, ALL RACES	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Allen County	15.7	16.2	15.3	15.3	15.6	15.4
State of IN	14.4	14.2	13.8	13.9	14.0	13.9

AGE-SPECIFIC BIRTH RATES, AGES 15-17	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Allen County	28.1	28.0	20.5	26.0	22.1	20.6
State of IN	26.2	23.7	22.5	21.5	20.9	20.5

The birth rate by age and race group for 2000 is show below.

ALLEN COUNTY, other races*

Teen births total: ages 10-19

ages 10-14

ages 18-19

*Note: Other is NOT a race, but the sum of all races except White and Black. Percentages not given for this category since so many races could be represented that a number here could be misleading.

Note: Age-Specific Birth Rates for Allen County, 2005, all races:

10-14	15-17	18-19	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	40-44	45+
.8	20.6	83.5	135.4	142.8	98.1	38.7	8.6	.2

Source: Indiana State Department of Health
Note: age/race specific rates calculated by CRI -rates are most likely not statistically significant at certain low birth levels, i.e. 10-14 years, over 44 years, and certain "other" age groups may not have sufficient birth numbers to produce statistically significant rates.

Studies have shown a high correlation between young teenage birth-rates with poverty and low educational attainment. There are also inter-generational correlations, i.e. teen moms, are likely to have mothers who became pregnant as a teen. As Kirby et al³ have observed this correlation is not surprising since poverty is a multidimensional problem that incorporates such factors as household make-up, (lack of) education, fewer economic opportunities, etc. Also correlated, although not as strongly, is the proportion of the community with a college education. Research suggests that programs on sex education and HIV education, as well as programs to combat school failure, and establish attachment to adults can decrease pregnancy rates.

Definitions, Sources and Caveats:

Note: Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) Natality data releases annual reports approximately 15 months after the end of the calendar year.

The Indiana Department of Health releases the data on the number of births and this is based on the residence of the mother. The race is also based on the race of the mother. All rates are from ISDH with the exception of the Age/Race Specific Birth Rate chart, which carries a disclaimer about some small birth population sizes making some rates not statistically significant.

^1. Crude Birth Rate: the number of live births divided by the total population, multiplied by 1000 (birth rates are usually given by per 1000 population). In 2001, 5 Indiana counties had a higher crude birth rate than Allen County. In 2002, 6 counties had a higher crude birth rate.

^2. Age (or race)-specific Birth Rate - The number of live births for a specific age (or race) group for every 1,000 female population in that age group. CRI maintains that Census years and the years immediately following are more significant due to better data.

^3. Kirby D, Coyle, K, and Gould, J. Manifestations of Poverty and Birthrates Among Young Teenagers in California Zip Code Areas, Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 33, Number 2. March/April 2001.

See also comments/correlations in the section on Unmarried Parents in this chapter.