Self-sufficiency, gender and pregnancy during adolescence: a comparative analysis of the experience of adolescents and young women from middle class and popular strata of the city of Belo Horizonte

Abstract

The present study investigates how class and gender inequalities work toward reducing the level of self-sufficiency of adolescents (15 to 19 years) and young women (20 to 24 years), influencing their sexual and reproductive behavior, specifically with the experience of a teenage pregnancy. In the analysis, the authors used data from two surveys, with a total sample of 648 young females between 15 and 24 years of age: 292 residents in middle class neighborhoods, and 356 from favelas (slums) in the center-south region of the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Results showed an overall prevalence of 27.3% of pregnancy up to 19 years among teenagers living in favelas, and of 1.7% among dwellers of the center-south region neighborhoods of Belo Horizonte. Data point toward a direct relationship between teenage pregnancy and control and violence by partners. Among favela dwellers, 48% of those who declared having been physically abused by their partner, and 58% of those who declared having been sexually abused had been pregnant at least once before the age of 19. The association between gender violence and pregnancy during adolescence remained, even if controlled for social class, although its weight was more pronounced among low income youth. These results strengthen the importance of in-depth understanding of the impact of class and gender inequalities in sexual and reproductive behavior of adolescents and young women.