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Title: Parental Involvement Laws, Birth Control, and Mental Health: New Evidence from the YRBS

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2014

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Abstract: A recent study by Colman, Dee, and Joyce (CDJ) used data from the National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (NYRBS) and found that parental involvement (PI) laws had no effect on the probability that minors abstain from sex or use contraception. We reexamine this issue using data from the NYRBS in combination with data from the State Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (SYRBS) and a variety of identification strategies designed to address the role of state-level time-varying unmeasured heterogeneity. Consistent with CDJ, we find that PI laws have no effect on minor teen females' abstinence decisions. However, when we (i) exploit additional state policy variation than was available to CDJ, (ii) use 18+ year-olds as a within-state control group, and (iii) rely on states with enjoined PI laws as an additional counterfactual group, we find evidence that the enforcement of PI laws decreases the probability of unprotected sex and increases use of the birth control pill. Despite the potential to diminish unwanted pregnancy, our findings provide only limited evidence that PI laws are associated with improved adolescent psychological well-being.

Url: http://www.dmarkanderson.com/PI_Laws_May_29_2014.pdf

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Authors: Sabia, Joseph J; Anderson, D Mark

Publisher: San Diego State University

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Health, Reproductive and Sexual Health

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