Factors associated with induced abortion among poor youth in the city of São Paulo, 2007

Abstract

The present article investigates factors associated with induced abortion among youth living in poor community in the city of São Paulo. The sample consisted of 102 men and 99 women, 14 to 25 years of age who had initiated their sex lives. The hierarchical logistic model was used. The variables, not having a sex partner at the time of the interview, respondent´s gender, age at the time of interview, prioritizing living alone, and the number of pregnancies comprised the final model. Considering very important to live alonesingly increases fourfold the likelihood of an abortion. Older youngsters were less likely to face an abortion, given that the likelihood of opting for an abortion is reduced in 17% for each one year increment in the age. This indicates that pregnancies were unexpected, untimely, as it is usual in the behavior teenagers, who are the major candidates to end up with an induced abortion. All this stresses the need to invest financial resources to obtain efficacious and innocuous contraceptive methods for the beginning of sex life.