Social and Affective Factors Associated with Adolescent Pregnancy (From Teenage Pregnancy, P 109-112, 1987, Mary C McClellan, ed. -- See NCJ-117071)

• NCJ Number: 117077
• Author(s): P B Smith; M L Weinman; D M Mumford
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: Phi Delta Kappa
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from the Journal of School Health, volume 52, number 2, February 1982.

Annotation

Perceptions associated with pregnancy, including life-expectations, desire for pregnancy, and knowledge of the menstrual cycle were assessed in a sample of urban adolescents 13 to 18 years old.

Abstract

A total of 104 primiparous low-income pregnant adolescents in their second or third trimester of pregnancy attending a city-county maternity hospital were consecutively selected according to three age categories -- 13-14 years, 15-16 years, and 17-18 years. Subjects were asked to respond anonymously to a short questionnaire administered by the clinic instructor while waiting for their routine prenatal examination. Questions covered personal demographics, knowledge and use of birth control, coital frequency, desire for pregnancy, affective states, expected lifestyle changes, and knowledge of the fertility cycle. The majority of subjects, although experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, perceived minimal negative social consequences associated with the pregnancy. Although more than 82 percent of all teens were aware of where to obtain birth control information and devices, they had no clear understanding of the menstrual cycle and its relationship to the reproductive cycle and intercourse. Only 11 percent used effective contraception. Of the birth-control nonusers, 74 percent reported they did not want to get pregnant. In spite of practicing unprotected coitus, most girls were surprised at the pregnancy. 1 table, 6 references.