Key results:

• Adolescents’ sexual behavior can be responsive to information about sexual and reproductive health. Information that
  addresses trade-offs related to decisions about sexual activity can be more effective in changing behaviors than simple exhortations
  to remain abstinent.
• Programs that enhance life aspirations can lead girls and young women to delay childbearing. Adolescents who hold
  optimistic beliefs about their future opportunities may be more likely to avoid risky sexual behaviors and engage in productive
  economic activities.
• Subsidizing school can support girls to continue their education, which in turn encourages delays in childbirth. Schooling
  may help adolescents better process decisions around childbirth and may shape fertility preferences. More education can also
  increase adolescents’ future earnings, leading them to delay childbirth in order to earn higher wages.
• Incentives can allow adolescents to delay relationships that lead to childbearing. Financial incentives may reduce incomerelated motivations to enter into transactional relationships or to marry at a young age.
• In contexts in which parents and others influence adolescent females’ childbearing outcomes, programs should also
  involve these decision-makers.