Theory and evidence suggest strong short-term effects of attitudes toward, and knowledge about, reproduction on women’s fertility. Adolescent attitudes and knowledge may also have longer-term implications about the contexts women perceive as appropriate for childbearing and their capacity to manage their preferences. Although previous research on men’s fertility is limited, theory would suggest the links between adolescent attitudes and knowledge and subsequent fertility would also exist for men (though perhaps in different ways given the gendered meanings of sex, contraception, and reproduction). We analyze the relationship between reproductive attitudes and knowledge in adolescence and unintended and nonmarital first and second births in early adulthood, using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 9,431). Adolescent reproductive attitudes, especially life course consequences of early childbearing, predict the intendedness and marital status of first and second births. Adolescent reproductive knowledge is more often linked to the context of second births than first births. These associations vary by gender, but the overall results suggest that fertility schemas developed during adolescence predict behavior into early adulthood.

理论和证据表明，对生育的态度和知识对女性的生育能力有短期的强烈影响。青少年的态度和知识也可能对女性认为适合生育的环境及其管理自己偏好的能力产生长期影响。尽管以前对男性生育能力的研究有限，但理论表明青少年的态度和知识与随后的生育能力之间的联系也存在于男性身上（尽管考虑到性、避孕和生育的性别含义，可能以不同的方式存在）。我们使用全国青少年到成人健康纵向研究 (N = 9,431) 分析了青春期的生育态度和知识与成年早期意外和非婚姻的第一胎和第二胎之间的关系。青少年的生育态度，尤其是早育的生命历程后果，可以预测第一胎和第二胎的意愿和婚姻状况。与第一胎相比，青少年生殖知识更多地与第二胎的背景相关联。这些关联因性别而异，但总体结果表明，青春期形成的生育模式可以预测成年早期的行为。