NCJ Number
108677
Date Published
1987
Length
17 pages
Annotation
In an examination of teenage pregnancy and school-leaving in Liberia, 200 14- to 20-year old students were surveyed regarding the process of schooling, attitudes toward motherhood, career options, and the consequences of parenthood.
Abstract
The sample included pregnant and nonpregnant school leavers, returned students, and young people who had never attended school. Results show that the student role conflicts with what is considered a successful adult role in traditional society: marriage and motherhood have high social status value for young women who have reached social maturity at 14 to 15 years of age. In addition, females must function in a male-oriented school environment in a way that is also at odds with traditional cultural norms. While all females surveyed valued motherhood highly, pregnant school-leavers showed a greater affiliation with traditional society. In general, pregnant dropouts were more similar to other students than to females who left school for reasons other than pregnancy. Pregnant subjects, compared to nonpregnant school-leavers, valued education for women, had higher career aspirations, enjoyed school, rated themselves academically average or above, and expressed interest in returning to school -- characteristics similar to night school students, most of whom had initially dropped out because of pregnancy. 7 references.