Prevalence of school desertion during teenage pregnancy from public schools in Valle del Cauca, 2006

Abstract

Background: In this study, based on the educational institution, we investigated the relationship between teen pregnancy and school dropout rates and how this influenced the school grade and age of pregnant women as a risk of truancy. Materials and methods: A voluntary survey was carried out in 180 public education institutions from the Department of Valle del Cauca, corresponding to a total of 112,470 female students, finding 605 pregnant women. From these, 564 were interviewed by a psychology professional at the beginning of the academic period, and monitored throughout the school year, identifying the school dropouts in this group. Results: We found that 24.6% of pregnant teenagers attending school dropped out during the academic period (8 times higher than the expected dropout rate in females). By analyzing the information, it was found that pregnant school girls between 16 and 18 years of age dropped out significantly less (p value = 0.011 <0.05) than those between 12 and 15 years of age, and that with the lowest school grade level reached there was higher probability of dropping out (p <0.001); this being the key element as a risk factor. Conclusions: Considering that the risk of dropping out as result of pregnancy is higher in school between the ages of 12 and 15 years, it should be encouraged efforts of pregnancy prevention mainly in the lower grades of high school with the intention of increasing academic and social opportunities in the group of young people. © 2011 Universidad del Valle, Facultad de Salud.