Check out Seventeen Magazine's February Edition

Check out the February issue of Seventeen -- on newsstands now -- for a what is reportedly a must-read story on the real reasons so many teens are still getting pregnant.

They've asked teens across the country to talk openly about their own experiences with getting pregnant when they didn't intend to -- and they have solid advice on what you can do to prevent it.

Most importantly, they want teens to take action: Seventeen has teamed up with the Candie's Foundation to launch the "What's Your Plan A?" video contest. The contest encourages teens to show them "what life dream is keeping you from getting pregnant," and they could win $1,000 and a fabulous trip to NYC, including a ticket to the Candie's Foundation Event To Prevent. Find out more at www.seventeen.com/psa or http://www.candiesfoundation.org/.

FACT: 70% of teen girls say that having a plan for the future would help prevent unplanned pregnancy.

FACT: 48% of teen girls think it might be possible they'll become pregnant in the next five years.

FACT: 67% of teen girls have friends who are or became pregnant as teenagers.

FACT: 2 out of 3 teen girls are more worried about STDs than an unplanned pregnancy

SOURCE: Seventeen/ Candie's Foundation survey, February 2008 issue

Risk Factors for First Premarital Intercourse

Summary: Change in Family Situation and Being Born Out of Wedlock Increases the Risk of First Premarital Intercourse

Findings show that experiencing more family transitions and being born out of wedlock place women at an increased risk for first premarital intercourse.

Theorists and researchers have argued for years that interactions between parents and children during childhood have long-lasting effects and that the type of family a child is raised in may affect behaviors later in life. This particular study sought to investigate the relationship between childhood living arrangements and the risk of first premarital intercourse. Three theoretical perspectives were examined through the study, two of which were found to be consistent with the results: socialization perspective, and instability and change perspective. The socialization perspective states that women who grow up in non-intact families during their childhood are socialized to view sex outside of marriage differently than women who are raised in intact families. Instability and change perspective states that young women who experience greater instability and change in family situations are subject to social and psychological stresses that increase the risk of intercourse. The 1995 National Survey of Family Growth was used for the study, and a total sample of 6,046 women was investigated. Findings showed that experiencing more transitions and being born out of wedlock increase the risk of first premarital sex. For Black women, each transition in childhood living arrangements increased the risk of premarital intercourse by 14%-21%, and the risk of premarital intercourse at each age was 34%-38% greater for Black women born out of wedlock. For White women, the risk of first premarital intercourse was 23%-41% higher for each change in family living arrangements. Additionally, White women born out of wedlock have a higher risk of first premarital intercourse (55% to 134%) than those not born out of wedlock.1

1Childhood Living Arrangements and Risk of Premarital Intercourse, Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 24, No. 2, October 2003, 867-894.

Meet Cadance

Adoption News- NC Establishes "Confidential Intermediary" System

A new law in North Carolina (SL2007-262) will permit licensed adoption agencies and county departments of social services to act as "confidential intermediaries" - that is, they will be allowed to provide non-identifying family health information to adopted adults 21 years or older (or their descendents) and to birthparents; if written consent of all parties is provided, they will also be allowed to facilitate contact or provide identifying information. Previously, such information could only be provided if a court order was obtained. The law was signed by Governor Mike Easley on July 23 and does not provide any state funding; agencies will establish fees for services. The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2008. To read the law, go to: http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2007/Bills/House/PDF/H445v4.pdf

Black Pro-Life Advocates- January Conference

LifeNews.com 1/1/08

Black Pro-Life Advocates Will Address Abortion Issues in January Conference

Berkeley, CA (LifeNews.com) --

Some of the top leaders in the African-American pro-life community will gather next month for a leadership conference in California. They plan to discuss future efforts to address issues relating to lowering the enormously high black abortion rate and getting more blacks involved in stopping abortion. Sponsored by the Issues4Life Foundation, Dr. Alveda King and Dr. Clenard Childress will be the keynote speakers at the Berkeley, California event. The Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., twice spoke to and rallied the African-American leadership during the civil rights movement, is the site of the January 18 "Leadership for Life" conference. During the civil rights era, Alveda's family home was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama. In the heat of the struggle, "Daddy's house was bombed, then in Louisville, Kentucky his church office was bombed. I was also jailed during the open housing movement," Dr. King recalls. Alveda has continued her long-term work as a civil rights activist, speaking out on issues that face society today -- including abortion.