Unwanted Teenage Pregnancies: Sociological Model Based on Agents

Abstract

This study used new methodologies embedded in agent-based modeling to generate specific characteristic phenomena and core dynamics in unwanted teenage pregnancies. A NetLogo software was used to simulate data exhibiting the pattern of unwanted teenage pregnancy. The simulation revealed four agents contributing to the number of unwanted pregnancies: number of multiple partners, commitment, birth control method/s used and frequency of sex education. Among the four agents, the number of sexual partners significantly influenced the rate of unwanted pregnancies. However, commitment was not observed to be a contributory factor for the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies; rather it was more sensitive to the interactions among different agents. The Multiple Linear Regression model was generated from the interactions of the four predictor-variables and it illustrated prediction of unwanted teenage pregnancies in a given community.