The incidence of adolescent childbearing is significantly higher among African Americans compared to Whites, whereas the rates of early childbirth have declined more rapidlyforAfricanAmericans over the past two decades. Although traditional measures of socioeconomic status do not account for the difference in adolescent childbirth rates by race, there are important reasons to question the external validity of these conventional variables. After summarizing differences in teen childbearing by race, this article addresses the problems inherent in a comparative approach to understanding race differences. More meaningful measures of socioeconomic status that provide a richer account of the social context of adolescents at risk of early childbearing are outlined. The social context approach might help inform literature on the role of family factors in adolescent childbearing, and some recent exanples of such an approach are provided. The resiliency shown by African American adolescents living within socially disadvantaged communities is also discussed. Finally, a brief excursion into how attention to the social context of teen childbearing might inform public policy is undertaken.
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