Research Papaer Essay

The terms young person, adoles centime, young, and young batch ar all map to delimit business deales in the phase of life that marks the conversion from electric razorishness to enceintehood. While in that location is universal agreement on the transition from childhood to adolescence, when exactly adolescence ends and great(p)hood begins is less(prenominal) clear as the point in time of adolescence is culture-specific and accordingly different in every society. In some cultures, the transition from young to adult could be very short, while, in separate cultures it could be all-night (Govindasamy et al. 2002). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2009) defines adolescents as people cured 10-19 y step forwardh as those elderly amid 15-24 and young people as those aged between 10 and 24 age old and jejunedr as people aged 13-19 years. Traore (2010) agrees that age has been use to differentiate adolescents from jejuners based on their physical ontogenesis. Th is muse, however, prefer to take females in the age group between 13 to 19 years as puerilers. In this topic, the term jejuners was used through pop out. The incidence of teen maternalism remains full(prenominal) around the world. tally to Nanda (2006), juvenile females give consume to 15 million infants every year. Thus, jejune maternal quality is a concern from some(prenominal) a human rights and a public health perspective. Teenage maternalism and its perfume on puerile m separatehood are among the study societal businesss confronting the contemporary global lodge (Gatara & international ampere Muriuki, 2005). In Ghana, for example, one report estimates that n beforehand(predicate) one-third of the child experiences enter in public hospitals occurred to women under 19 years of age (Xinhua, 2006).The prevalence is higher in the rural areas and small- to-medium-sized towns which are a good deal under-represented in the hospital birth statistics. A survey conducted by the UN Regional Institute for universe of discourse Studies reported that one out of three misss aged 15 to 19 living in Ghanas Central Region has had a child (Xinhua, 2006). Similar prevalence of puerile pregnancies run through been described for other Afri git countries (Mwansa et aI. , 2004). One moot in Swaziland constitute that females aged 15-19 years accounted for 32. per cent of the total profusion (Gule, 2005). A nonher probe reported that females in the same age group contributed 103 births per 1000 women in the Kenya (Gatara Muriuki, 2005). It has been estimated that at least one out of twenty girls is apparent to give birth during the school-going age. entropy for Botswana in like manner show that by 2004, virtually 25 percent of girls 15-19 years old were already begets (Curtis, 2008). Two years by and by, in 2006, 56 per cent of the girls had dropped out of secondary schools in the country out-of-pocket to gestation (Mashalaba, 2009).On ex plaining the factors that contribute to adolescent motherliness, (Anderson, 2001) strand that in unworthy neighbourhoods, juvenilers exist less delay over many aspects of their lives than the non-poor.. Anderson (2001) has further reported that some necessitous teenage girls consider childbirth as a rare consultation of self-esteem, or a sign of growing up, while internal subjection brings a feeling of accomplishment to some teenage boys to whom legitimate opportunities whitethorn be blocked (Farley, 2005). The discussion of teenage maternalism and childbirth indeed, tends to condition the line as mainly a feature of the poor subdivision of society.Besides, a lit review (Lewis, 2006 2009) shows that aside indigence, factors such as early exposure to familiar activity, lack of turn on education, weak parental control and supervision, consort insistency, low self-esteem and the need for self-fulfillment are associated with teenage gestation. It is in light of the se factors that this study seeks to quantify the factors that becharm teenage pregnancy and their cause in the Sunyani Municipality in order to help policy makers bursting charge the problem. 1. 2 Problem StatementTeenage pregnancy has long been a worldwide amicable and educational concern for the developed, developing and underdeveloped countries. numerous countries conduct to experience high incidence of teenage pregnancy in spite of the intervention strategies that tolerate been put in place. In 2000 approximately 530,000 teenagers in the United States became great(predicate), out of which 51% gave birth (Coley Chase-Lansdale, 2008). Available writings suggests that in Africa, the total fertility rate has declined to an average of 2. 9 children per woman (Dickson, 2002).A decline in fertility rates has been associated with a high use of contraceptives among women and excessively the legalisation of abortion in about African countries (Swartz, 2002). in spite of t he decline in the total fertility rate, teenage pregnancy has been embed to be significantly high (Dickson, 2002). The high prevalence of teenage pregnancy in societies characterised by poverty, low education, fewer job opportunities and families headed by mothers who gave birth to their graduation exercise children in adolescence (Dryfoos, 2006 Macleod, 2009).Teenage pregnancy is also associated with other sturdy doingss such as alcohol and drug use, and early initiation of internal activity, which exhaust been identified as predictors of pregnancy (Coley Chase-Lansdale, 2008). Plant and Plant (2002) moot that risk or problem behaviour is associated with social disadvantage, poverty, homelessness, unemployment, bad housing, come apart family structure and nerve-racking life events. The youth emulate the behaviour of their parents and of their society, indeed social and cultural factors influence patterns of risk taking (Plant Plant, 2002).The high incidence of teenage pr egnancy has become a major societal and educational concern, as it seems to perpetuate poverty and low levels of education (Furstenberg et al. , 2007 Morgan, 2007). as well as receivable to changing social circumstances and determine, teenage pregnancy is a tolerated phenomenon in modern Ghanaian society. Social permissiveness towards sex outside trades wedlock, and absence of serious social repercussions like isolation or exclusion adjacent an out of wedlock birth, contribute to the high rate of teenage pregnancy (Parekh De La Rey, 2007).It has also been argued by Preston-Whyte and Zondi (2002) that the high value placed on fertility and education encourages adolescent girls to aspire for both motherhood and donnish qualifications. The high cultural value placed on education and fertility is seen as a contributory factor to the prevalence of teenage pregnancy (Preston-Whyte Zondi, 2002). Education and the link employment prospects enhances the possibility of improved qual ity of life and thereof may be one of the factors that encourage adolescent to continue with school after child birth (Kaufman et al. , 2001). blush though big(predicate) teenagers may not officially be prevented from remaining at school, realistically, due to the demands of parenting, they may be pressd to drop out of school, for example, in instances where thither is no one to look after the child while the teenage mother continues with her schooling. aroundtimes the pregnant teenager feels isolated from her peers. She may be embarrassed by her condition and halt difficulty fitting in with her non-pregnant peers and as a result may drop out of school. Parenting teenagers often have to deal with strained family alliances. Sometimes parents react with anger to the pregnant teenagers.She may be blamed or ostracised for causing a problem (Cervera, 2004). Consequently, she may not get assistance and stay from her family members forcing her to drop out of school in order to rais e her child. Based on the aforementioned(prenominal) problems and its effect on the teenager, child, family and the society, this study seeks to assess the factors that influence teenage pregnancy and their effects in the Sunyani Municipality in order to help policy makers prognosticate the problem. It has been established that at that place has not been any similar study concerning teenage pregnancy and their effects on teenagers at the Sunyani Zongo community.Although there have been infinite cases of teenage pregnancy in the community depriving runed teenagers from furthering their basic education. The aged in the community based on interaction with the queryer revealed that people come to the community to seek the support of the residents in response to their questionnaires, their projects aimed at other relevant community cogitate problems but none of them is focussed on teenage pregnancy. 1. 3 Justification of the theater Little attention has been given to psychologic al variables and processes that predict the occurrence of teenage pregnancy (Coley Chase-Lansdale, 2008). approximately literature focuses on social factors, which predispose teenagers to falling pregnant. pregnancy may cause psychological distress, as it is often associated with dropping out of school, each before or shortly after childbirth (Zondi, 2002). Teenage mothers are to a greater extent likely to present with symptoms of effect when compared with their non-parenting peers and older mothers (Kalil Kunz, 2000). The transition to motherhood puts teenagers at a greater risk for psychological distress because they are socially, cognitively and emotionally immature to header with the demands of motherhood.This study examines the experiences of pregnant learners, both in a scholastic and personal context. It assesses how these learners are affected by the demands of coexisting motherhood and adolescence. there appears to be little look do on how Ghanaian pregnant adolesc ent learners perceive their situation and how they cope with the demands of adolescence and of motherhood. The results drawn from the study would form a basis for further look on the psychological effects of pregnancy during teenagers and may also be of value to designing intervention strategies. 1. 4 inquiry ObjectivesThe study center on the following objectives. 1. 5 General Objective To assess the factors that influence teenage pregnancy and their effects in the Sunyani Municipality (SM) in order to urge on policy actions for policy makers. 1. 5. 1 Specific objectives This study intended To assess the influence of socio-stinting shape on teenage pregnancy To identify the effect of peer wring on teenage pregnancy and To examine piling media exposure and its effect on teenage pregnancy. To assess the effects of teenage pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality. To make recommendations based on the findings of the study. . 5 Research Questions Based on the specific objectives of the study, the research seeks answers to the following questions What is the influence and effects of socio-stinting status on teenage pregnancy in the SM? What are the influences and effects of peer wardrobe on teenage pregnancy in the SM? How does the quid media exposure impact on teenage pregnancy? What are the consequences of teenage pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality? 1. 6 Significance of the Study The outcome of this study depart provide useful entropy some the psychological well-organism of pregnant teenagers.This get out assist mental health professionals in developing appropriate psycho-educational programmes to address the psychosocial challenges associated with teenage pregnancy and motherhood. Further much(prenominal), the findings of the study will help to inform public debate that could speck to the development of appropriate policies on how to deal with the challenge of teenage pregnancy and motherhood. Also victims of teenage pregnancy will get the opport unity to disclose information about their experiences in order to help in their addressing problems.Considering the nature of this study, including scholar affairs professionals, counsellors or psychologists, and those interested in womans issues would be assisted to identify the factors associated with teenage pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality and their effects on the teenager, the child and the society. Future researchers, who would study into determinants of teenage pregnancy in the Municipality, would also have a complement or a basis for their literature review. Finally, the research is likely to raise questions leading to further research. 1. 7 background knowledge of the StudyFor feasibility purposes, the study focused on how socio-economic status peer jam and early exposure to inner activity by the mass media influence teenage pregnancy and their effects on the teenager, child and the society. The study considered school going teenagers who dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality. In the study, a pregnant teenager was pregnant girl aged 13 to 19 years. Besides, psychological effects in this study referred to the presence of symptoms cogitate to somatic complaints, anxiety and insomnia, social isolation, and depression.The current study focused on pregnant teenagers who were drawn from the Sunyani Municipality who attended antenatal clinic (ANC) at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital (SMH) during the period of data collection. 1. 7 Delimitation Even though the study was carried out in Sunyani Municipality, concentration was on teenagers at Sunyani Zongo community considering the fact that they have stake in the topic understudy. This research was conducted within the following parameters the influence and effects of socio-economic status on teenage pregnancy he influence and effects of peer pressure on teenage pregnancy the influence and effects of mass media exposure on teenage pregnancy the consequences of teenag e pregnancy on teenagers. 1. 8 placement of the Chapters The research is in five different chapters. In the first chapter, an acuteness is given as to what the study is all about with the statement of research problem, research questions and objectives, significance of the study, limitations of the study, and the organization of the essay. In the second chapter, an overview of relevant materials related to the study is discussed.In the third chapter, the researcher presents the methodology used in the study chapter 4 will focus on the presentation and psychoanalysis of data, and the final chapter will look at the conclusions and recommendations. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE canvas 2. 1 Introduction This chapter reviewed several selected studies which relate to the topic. The chapter focused on literature related to socio-economic status and teenage pregnancy peer pressure and teenage pregnancy, mass media exposure and teenage pregnancy as well as the effects of teenage pregnancy 2. 2 Socio-economic status and Teenage gestation periodIt has been revealed that teenage pregnancy is often associated with low socio-economic status ( Dryfoos, 2006). Economically deprived teenagers are characterised by low levels of education and lack of employment opportunities (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002). Certain family characteristics have also been identified as factors that put teenagers at risk of becoming pregnant in early life. Factors such as poverty, oneness parent families especially the female headed households, poorly educated parents have been associated with teenage pregnancy (Furstenberg et al. , 2007).Teenagers from one-parent headed families are apt to suffer from deprivations that may lead them to seek affection, security and a sense of significance elsewhere (Chillman, 2006). There are two contrasting views on the subject of single parenting. In some kickoffs it is argued that most parenting adolescents have been found to come from impoverished single parent families, which are often headed by a female (Swartz, 2002). In the other source, children raised in single parent families are more likely to have been victims of an unstable family environment, have experienced a decouple or parental conflict (Russell, 2004).Negative family environment plays a major role in contributing to early teenage sexual experience and teenage pregnancy (Cunningham & Boult, 2002 Macleod, 2009). A familys low economic status with all the factors associated with it, impacts negatively on teenagers attitudes towards early pregnancy. Life experiences associated with poverty minimise the perceived repercussions of adolescent pregnancy (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002). Andorka (2008) declared that people with higher income show lower fertility levels at the earlier stage of socioeconomic development than people with lower income.Other basics of economic conditions such as economic security also seem to have a significant influence on teenage pregnancy (Andork a, 2008). A study by Kamal (2009) showed that a significant negative relation was found between teenage motherhood and the wealth index. About three out of four women with a poor wealth index started childbearing before they reached the age of nineteen. Choe et al. (2001) showed that womans education was significantly related to the chance of child bearing before the age of 20.The results of a study by Were (2007) also showed that teenage pregnancies were perpetuated by poor educational access as women with low levels of education tended to be the victims of teenage birth. Because educated woman were more likely to participate in the labour force than their uneducated or lower educated counterparts, women who were working also tended to delay their first marriage and first birth compared with those women who were not working. In Ghana, Bogue (2009) argue that education showed a stronger and more consistent relationship with teenage pregnancy.The level of education of women is a soc ioeconomic indicator which is frequently found to be negatively related to teenage pregnancy. This is because educated women tend to marry and use contraception later compared to women who have a low level of education (Bongaarts, 2008). Furthermore, Cochrane (2009) also verbalize that education was positively related to more favourable attitudes toward birth control, greater knowledge of contraception, and husband-wife communication. Thus, concerning the context of the study, it assumes that the level of educational attainment of women may affect the timing of childbearing among women. . 3 Peer Pressure and Teenage Pregnancy Preston-Whyte & Zondi (2002) found that schoolmates exerted a softwood of pressure on their peers to consume in sexual relations. Some studies have found that teenagers often attend their peers as being of strong influence on their sexual behaviour (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002 Chillman, 2006). Teenagers need for approval and a desire to belong to a g roup makes them vulnerable to peer influence thereby leading to them to teenage pregnancy (Kamal, 2009). Nowadays teenagers preferred position is to stay away from their parents, to head off to be controlled by parents.They rather listen to their peers than to their parents. Bezuidenhout (2002) said that during that time norms and values taught by parents start to fade out and are replaced by bounteous sexual values orientated by peers. Preston-Whyte and Zondi (2002) mentioned that peer pressure plays a role in teenage pregnancy. Buga et al. (2006) found that 20% of girls and 10% of boys on an indivi multiple basis indicated that they had initiated sexual activity because of peer pressure. Wood et al. (2006) said peer pressure takes a form of exclusionary practices (e. g. sending sexually inexperienced teenagers away when having discussions concerning sexual matters).Again Mfono (2008) indicated that one of the dynamics operative in sexual relations is that girls and young women are under pressure to demonstrate that they are sexually capable of giving birth. Furthermore, Rozakis (2003) believed that many teens are pushed by their friends into doing something they are not ready for, and really do not understand that peer pressure can be a very strong and persuasive force for sexual relations during adolescence. Peer association has been indicated as one of the strongest predictors of adolescent sexual behaviour and teenage pregnancy (DiBlasio & Benda, 2004).Youth that do not engage in sex tend to have friends who also abstain. Those that are sexually active tend to believe that their friends are sexually active as well. Males, particularly those over 16, report more pressure from peers to be sexually active while females report more pressure from partners (Guggino & Ponzetti, 2007). Moore and Rosenthal (2003) pointed to the following ways peer influence can hunt done sharing of information, which can serve as a send in decision-making about sex (th is may include inaccurate information).Through prevailing attitudes about sexuality (implicitly reflected in their behaviour and serving as a role model or explicitly stated in discussions and so forth ). For example, there is some research evidence that the age of first relative is related to the perceived peer approval of premarital intercourse (Daugherty & Burger, 2004). 2. 4 Mass media exposure and Teenage Pregnancy Lucas (2004) stated that the age at first marriage is the one of the determinants of fertility and is classed as the intercourse variable. Early entry into marriage or a union is considered to be strongly connected with early child bearing.The supposition is that it will expose women to regular sexual intercourse through the mass media, and therefore increase the possibility of conception (Mahy & Gupta, 2002). Gupta and Leite (2009) stated that access to the media was found to be the most significant predictor of fertility among young adult women in Brazil bas ed on an analysis of DHS data. In this region, the mass media are believed to play an important role in promoting social attitudes about fertility and reproductive behaviours, especially given the countrys lingual homogeneity (Gupta & Leite, 2009).It can be assumed that women who are used to being exposed to mass media are likely to understand the risks of teenage motherhood, and, as a result, they tend to delay their pregnancies. It is clear from different sources that the media often plays a major role in influencing teenage pregnancy. Parents can barely consistently monitor what programmes their teenagers are watching. Rozakis (2003) believed that tv set is the main source of sexual socialization in many teenagers lives in the USA.According to A Rozakis (2003), in a single year there were 20, 000 sexual messages on television used to sell almost anything you can imagine cars, travel, soft drinks, toothpaste, and clothing. tv set also shows six times more extramarital sex t han sex between husbands and wives. During the absence of any elderly person children become world-weary and want to experiment with many things including exploring TV channels as source of entertainment. Devenish et al. (2002) agreed that the media also portray sex as fun and exciting.Bezuidenhout (2004) added that sexually arousing material, whether it is on film, in print or set to music, is freely operable to the teenager and such information is often presented out of the context of the positive sexual norms of that society. Schultz (2004), in his empirical study, suggested that sex educators, social workers, other dowery professionals, and parents should work together to counteract distortions that affect adolescents sexual development and sexual growth, and professionals and parents need to recognize the reality and power of the media as an influence on sexual growth.All of the above can influence teenagers behaviour and encourage them to experiment with sex which will lea d to undesirable teenage pregnancies (Schultz, 2004). Similarly, Moore and Rosenthal (2003) pointed out that television, films and other forms of media have removed a lot of the mystery surrounding sex by increasingly explicit characterisation of sexual acts, which can provide a model of sexual behaviour. The uninventive portrayals often do not provide positive role models with epicurean values rather than responsibility being promoted (e. g. planning for sex being rarely included) (Moore, 2000).According to McCabe (20055), the medias message is that teenagers should be sexually experienced. 2. 5 Effects of Teenage Pregnancy Teenage pregnancy has been associated with a name of negative effects, hence it is perceived as a social problem (Furstenberg et al. , 2007 Macleod, 2009). In medical literature it has been associated with obstetrics problems such as high infant and maternal mortality, risks of clandestine abortion, delivery complications and low infant birth weight (Dickson , 2002). Other complications for the teenage mother are limited educational opportunities, self-determination and a poor quality of life (Prater, 2002).At the broader social level the high teenage fertility rate has been found to have a negative effect on the economic development (Varga, 2003). Some young mothers do not get support from their families. They may be rejected by their families and blamed for introducing a permanent crisis (Hudson & Ineichen, 2001 Cervera, 2004). In a situation where there was a pre-existing interpersonal problem, there is a potential that tension might be orchestrated (Dryfoos, 2006). and so conflict may arise between the pregnant daughter and other members of the family.Some sources have reported positive results, indicating that sometimes a family reorganises itself in order to adjust to the new member of the family (Cervera, 2004). The family may react with dismount or anger when they discover about the pregnancy, but when the baby is natural the family may become the source of support for the mother (Moore, 2000). Positive family support has been associated with emotional adjustment and mental stability for both mother and child (Camerana et al. , 2008). According to Kalil and Kunz (20088) young mothers who lived with a supportive family tended to cope better.In the Ghanaian context, a child of an unmarried mother belongs to its mothers family (Burman, 2002). It is very unlikely that her family will reject a teenage mother (Kaufman et al. , 2001). Most communities no bimestrial practice acts of exclusion to the unmarried mother and her child (Parekh & De La Rey, 2007). In her review of South African studies on teenage pregnancy, Macleod (20099) stated that teenage mothers reported a perceived improvement in the relationship with their parents. Parents were reported to relate to teenage mothers as adults. Thus parenthood gave the teenage mothers an entry to adulthood (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002).Prater (2002) sta ted that teenage pregnancy and subsequent parenting could create major obstacles to any learners achievements at school. Thus, pregnant learners are impaired by their situation. Even though they have as much potential for academic success as their non-parenting cohorts, there are multidimensional causes for their academic failure. Many investigations have shown that early pregnancy hinders educational attainment. Erikson (2004) reported that teenage mothers exhibited a syndrome of failure, which included a failure to remain in school. Pregnant learners are more likely to drop out of school for at least an academic year.The dual role of being a mother and a learner is stressful (Parekh & De La Rey, 2007) and impinges on school achievement. School attendance, is also fed up(p) by such things as babysitting arrangements and the health of the child. Furstenberg et al. (2007) referred to what is termed role foul. He defined role overload as the strain that exists when the teenage mo ther simultaneously attempts to meet the demands of parenting and schooling. Parenting learners cannot participate in experiences enjoyed by their peers, for example, extra-curricular activities, which can add much value to the total school experience of most teenagers.Despite these hardships schooling emerged as important (Prater, 2002). Depression has been correlated with teenage pregnancy (Hamburg, 2006). Parenting teenagers are more likely to present with higher levels of depression when compared with non-parenting adolescents and older mothers. In most literature psychological distress among adolescent mothers is perceived as resulting from psychosocial stressors related to the adjustment into the role of being the mother (Kalil & Kunz, 2000). In some literature it is argued that teenage girls are predisposed to depression (Galambos, 2004).It is postulated that teenage girls are more prone to experiencing mothers of the same ethnic and socio-economic status had similar fin dings (Field et al. , 2006 Hudson & Ineichen, 2001). It was found that infants of teenage mothers are more likely to bring less verbal stimulation and to have developmental delays. These negative effects were associated with the fact that teenage mothers had limited knowledge of developmental milestones and held punitive child rearing attitudes. Literature concludes that teenage mothering is contributory to poor cognitive development of the child.Low education levels of the mother, poor socioeconomic status and negative attitudes towards child rearing are correlated with the childs poor developmental outcome (Field et al. , 2006). Cunningham and Boult (2006) also postulated that the young mothers immaturity, social inexperience and lack of child rearing skills have a negative effect on the child. The young mother and her off-spring are at a risk of becoming victims of crime like incest, rape, neglect, abuse, family violence and of liaison in criminal activities such as drug tra fficking, prostitution etc.In the Ghanaian context the teenage mother often resides in her parental home (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002) and the child is often in the handle of an adult during the day either the grandmother or at an alternate(a) day care. This implies that the child of a teenager is more than likely to receive parenting from an adult mother figure and to benefit from this interaction (Camerana et al. , 2008). Multiple care giving has also been found to be of benefit for the mother. While an adult is looking after the child, the mother gets the opportunity to attend to other responsibilities thus alleviating the stressors for the mother.