This study fills a major gap in research, revealing that sports may well be an untapped resource in the nation’s struggle to prevent teen pregnancy. Many Americans believe that sports help to lower girls’ risk for pregnancy. Parents breathe easier because their daughters are busy and chaperoned while attending after-school sports programs. Coaches tell stories about girls for whom the self-esteem supplied by sports helped ward off peer pressures to have sex. Some corporate advertisers point to sport as a key solution to the problem of teen pregnancy.
