Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2015 Impact of Environmental and Individual Risk Factors on Pregnant and Parenting Teenagers Lakeasha Thrasher Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Public Health Education and Promotion Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Walden University College of Health Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Lakeasha Thrasher has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Mary Lou Gutierrez, Committee Chairperson, Public Health Faculty Dr. Paige Wermuth, Committee Member, Public Health Faculty Dr. Rodney Bowden, University Reviewer, Public Health Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2015 Abstract Impact of Environmental and Individual Risk Factors on Pregnant and Parenting Teenagers by Lakeasha S. Thrasher MPA, Albany State University, 2003 BS, Albany State University, 1999 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Health Walden University August 2015 Abstract Teenage pregnancy is both a social and a public health problem in the United States, with approximately 750,000 young women between the ages of 15 and 19 becoming pregnant each year. In addition, teen pregnancy is more prevalent in the African American (15%) and Hispanic (14%) communities than it is in White communities (5%).