Recidivism Among Jamaican Teenage Mothers 1995-1998

Pregnancy is the single most important reason why girls fail to complete secondary school in the Engliah-speaking Caribbean. The education of girls is universally recognized as the single best investment developing countries can make to reduce the burden of repeat adolescent childbearing. Recognizing the importance of female education for empowering women, and protecting young girls from sexual exploitation and premature pregnancy, the Women s Centre of Jamaica Foundation launched its adolescent mothers program in 1978. This initiative utilizes an innovative participatory approach to ensure that pregnant adolescents can continue their education and delay additional pregnancies. This population-based evaluation of the WCJF Program demonstrated clearly that participation in the WCJF Program exerts a profound effect on recidivism: reducing the risk of one or more repeat pregnancies by 45 percent, when socio demographic variables were held constant. The risk of repeat pregnancy was lower for program participants compared with non- participants, and participants were more likely to complete school.