https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520917509 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 1–15 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0886260520917509 journals.sagepub.com/home/jiv Original Research Community Violence Exposure and Adolescent Pregnancy in Chicago Laura Laursen, MD, MS, 1 Luciana Hebert, PhD, 2 Sara Newton, MS, 3 Candice Norcott, PhD, 4 and Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH 4 Abstract This study examined the association between community violence exposure (CVE), sex without contraception, and adolescent pregnancy in Chicago. A self-administered, online survey was conducted among 15- to 19-year-old girls from the South and West sides of Chicago from October to March 2018. Participants were recruited via community organization partnerships and social media advertising. The survey included questions about CVE, sexual behaviors, and covariates that are known to contribute to sexual risk taking. CVE was measured via a validated index of seven questions that measured individual experiences with violence. Multivariable and logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between CVE, penile– vaginal intercourse without contraception, and ever being pregnant. The final sample included 644 girls. Levels of CVE were high: 62.87% of girls reported that a close friend or relative died because of violence and 41.60% were a victim of violence. Nearly half (48.69%) of girls had penile–vaginal intercourse and 6.01% had been pregnant. For each standard deviation increase in CVE 1 Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA 2 Washington State University, Seattle, USA 3 Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Chicago, USA 4 University of Chicago, IL, USA Corresponding Author: Laura Laursen, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rush University, 1653 West Congress Parkway, 720, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. Email: laura.e.laursen@gmail.com 917509JIV XX X 10.1177/0886260520917509Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceLaursen et al. research-article 2020