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PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sep 08, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A study indicates most teenage boys who don't plan to cause pregnancy still believe it's likely they will get someone pregnant within six months.
The likelihood is linked to beliefs about pregnancy and condoms, as well as socioeconomic status, said lead author Cynthia Rosengard, an internal medicine researcher at Rhode Island Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at Brown Medical School.
"Clearly, if you ask a teenage boy if he plans on pregnancy, he will probably say 'No,'" said Rosengard. "But just because he doesn't plan to get someone pregnant doesn't mean he won't. In order to address teenage pregnancy, we need to ask the questions in different ways."
The study involved 101 sexually active boys, ages 14 to 19.
"Teenage boys feel, for a variety of reasons, that they're not always going to protect themselves against pregnancy," Rosengard says. "Some are worried their partner might not trust them if they use condoms -- they might fear they're unfaithful, for example. If you find out what their intentions are, you may be able to prevent them from causing a pregnancy."
The findings appear in the electronic edition of the journal Pediatrics.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
