Adolescent Pregnancy in the Dominican Republic
Over the past several decades, robust economic growth and sustained poverty reduction have made the Dominican Republic (DR) a regional success story, yet the country’s adolescent pregnancy rate remains far above the average for Latin America and th...
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| Format: | Policy Note |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/495961624001349657/Adolescent-Pregnancy-in-the-Dominican-Republic http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35860 |
| Summary: | Over the past several decades, robust
economic growth and sustained poverty reduction have made
the Dominican Republic (DR) a regional success story, yet
the country’s adolescent pregnancy rate remains far above
the average for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and is
closer to the levels observed in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Adolescent pregnancy poses severe risks to girls and young
women, including elevated rates of maternal1 and child
mortality, and is strongly correlated with sexual abuse and
domestic violence. This report analyzes the DR’s
persistently high rate of adolescent pregnancy, identifies
its main determinants and consequences, and evaluates the
effectiveness of policies and programs designed to help
reduce adolescent pregnancy and mitigate its adverse
personal and social impacts. This report presents a set of
stylized facts on adolescent pregnancy in the DR and uses an
econometric model to estimate the statistical significance
of risk factors for adolescent pregnancy and its negative
effects at the individual and household levels. Finally, an
assessment of early adolescent versus late adolescent
pregnancy reveals important differences in their causes and implications. |
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