Hawaii Bucks National Teen Birth Rate Trend For Asian/Pacific Islanders
Asian and Pacific Islanders have the lowest teen birth rate of all other ethnic groups nationally, but in Hawaii they have almost the highest.
Forty-six out of every 1,000 Asian/Pacific Islander females between the ages of 15 and 19 in Hawaii have babies, according to from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That rate is even higher than the state’s overall teen birth rate of 42 per 1,000, and more than twice the national rate of 17 per 1,000 for Asian/Pacific Islanders.
“Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are a huge issue for us,” said Judy Clark, executive director of the Hawaii Youth Services Network, a coalition of more than 50 agencies serving young people. “The three communities with the highest rates are Molokai, the Waianae Coast and the Waimea area. Big Island would have the highest rate by county.”
Asians, Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (alone or in combination) together accounted for 75 percent of Hawaii鈥檚 total population as of July 1, 2009, according to the .
Asian and Pacific Islander mothers of all ages accounted for 13,000, or nearly 70 percent, of the state’s 19,000 births in 2008, according to from the CDC. About three-quarters of births to teen mothers are among Asian and Pacific Islanders.
Teen pregnancy can affect student achievement and often contributes to school dropout rates, topics explored in a related story.
