Having an older sister who has a baby in her teens doubles the probability of teenage pregnancy for a younger sibling, according to an analysis of census data from almost 43,000 women.
The researchers found that teenage motherhood of an older sister has a significant "peer effect", doubling the probability of a younger sister having a teenage birth from about one in five to two in five. The effect is most intense the closer children are in age and most pronounced for the poorest sections of society.
The study, carried out by researchers at Bristol University, also showed that although increasing the length of time girls remained in education reduced the probability of teenage motherhood, this was overshadowed by the influence of an older teenage mother in the house. The size of the sample meant that the team was able to eliminate the effect social and economic factors.
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