Teenage pregnancy in Nova Scotia communities: associations with contextual factors.

This study used data from the Nova Scotia Department of Health (1995-2000) to better assess the distribution of teenage pregnancy in Nova Scotia communities and to identify community contextual factors associated with teenage pregnancy. Pregnancy events for those aged 15 to 19 were counted and population size in Nova Scotia communities was estimated. The cumulative probability of pregnancy (CPP) among 15- to 19-year-olds was calculated for each of one hundred and one separate communities. Enumeration area centroids were overlain on community boundaries and linked to community level data from the 1996 Canadian Census. CPP ranged from 0.01 to 0.39 indicating that some communities do well with respect to this health outcome while others do not. Factors negatively associated with CPP were increasing level of education in communities and proportions of those indicating a religious faith. Positive associations were seen with increased proportions of single parent families proportion of population native or black and the rate of female participation in the work place. Seventy-three per cent of the variance in CPP was explained by these factors. Socio-economic factors and the social support community norms and influence of parental control which religious affiliation and family structure may represent are important areas to pursue further to understand why these community differences occur. (authors)