While recent research has shown the long-term effects of teen pregnancy are not as devastating as once predicted, more than 40 years after the passage of Title IX legislation mandating equal educational opportunities for pregnant and parenting teens, only 50% of teen parents graduate high school, lagging far behind their non-parenting peers. This…

Can the use of a method such as role play help reduce sexual risk behaviour among KwaZulu-Natal learners? A study was undertaken of the use of role plays by Grade 8 learners, at eight urban and rural KwaZulu-Natal high schools, as part of a programme to reduce the prevalence of teenage pregnancy. Within the framework of Bandura's Social Cognitive…

Contested social norms underlie public concern about adults' and teenagers' nonmarital pregnancy. The original, vignette-based National Pregnancy Norms Survey (N = 812) measures these norms and related sanctions. Descriptive analyses report embarrassment at the prospect of a nonmarital pregnancy by age and gender of hypothetical prospective…

The historical context of teen pregnancy in the US and its evolution to the present embodiment of the predominantly urban "welfare mother" developed from specific socio-historical contexts that deemed early childbirth, especially illegitimate pregnancies, as morally and socially deviant. Two conceptual elements missing within the literature on…

Two aspects of teenage fertility are examined in this paper: (1) teenage fertility, in general, does not follow the conventional family formation process in which conception follows marriage; and (2) there are considerable differences between White and non-White teenagers in proportions either pregnant outside of marriage or single at delivery.…

Measured self-esteem of 93 unmarried adolescent females upon entry into several state-sponsored training programs. Discovered significant differences concerning the impact of early motherhood on subjects. Symbolic importance of motherhood, as a passage into adult status, and intervening effects of normative group anchorage may mediate between…

Surveyed 498 Kansas City residents to determine their attitudes regarding contraception and resolution of teenage pregnancy. Results showed 80 percent favored contraceptives for adolescents. Over half favored keeping the baby or placing it for adoption, while 40 percent favored abortion. Responses showed significant demographic differences. (JAC)

A mid-1970s study of the characteristics of pregnant unmarried mothers who keep their children and those who surrender them for adoption discloses some differences from the characteristics of such mothers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (CM)

Explores the impact of teenage pregnancy and childbearing on the families of the adolescents and examines the amount and type of support extended by the family of origin to the pregnant teenager. (Author/GC)

Sixteen white intact families with unwed teenage daughters completed two measures of family adaptability and alliance at six and eight months during the pregnancy and one month after the baby's birth. Most families became more cohesive and had improved family functioning after the pregnancy. (SLD)

Describes an historical cohort study of 3,767 teenagers aged 12-16 years, enrolled in Arkansas Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Results indicate teenagers with sisters who bore children have elevated childbearing rate ratios. Suggests this group be targeted for family planning efforts. (SA)

Examined gender differences in adolescents' personal views about pregnancy resolution and family formation. Surveyed adolescents (n=577) using vignette involving unplanned pregnancy. Findings showed similar percentages of males and females preferred abortion and adoption as strategies for handling pregnancy, but females were more likely to select…

Examines family-of-origin stress, age of first menarche, and the perceptions of pregnancy as a life event in 97 pregnant adolescents. Participants' reported high levels of family stress with only a moderate level of impact or stress attributed to the pregnancy. As a group, the girls' first menarche matched national averages. (RJM)

Adolescent pregnancy and parenthood have become increasingly important public policy issues in recent years for many reasons, including concerns about their prevalence, about the economic and social problems faced by young mothers and their children, and about the budgetary effects of adolescent parents' reliance on public assistance programs.…

This research study compared the self-concept of women who had chosen first trimester abortion to those who were sexually active but had never experienced pregnancy. Subjects were stratified according to age groups: 13-19, 20-29, and 30 years of age and over. The sample was selected from clients of an intercity abortion agency and students of an…