Title: The pregnant adolescent: problems of premature parenthood.

POPLINE Document Number: 033765

Author(s):

Bolton FG Jr

Source citation:

Beverly Hills, California, Sage Publications, 1980. 246 p. (Sage Library of Social Research Vol. 100)

Abstract:

This book's objective is to describe the circumstances surrounding adolescent pregnancy, demonstrate the need for social support, and describe how these supports might be offered. It contains 2 basic thrusts. The early chapters describe the adolescent pregnancy problem and the parallels between the development of the adolescent pregnancy and the potential child maltreater. What follows from this description is the author's sense of methods which will help to reduce the risks generated by participation in either, or both, of these environments. The information presented in this volume suggests that the time for joint study of child maltreatment and adolescent pregnancy has arrived. The demand for correlational study of these 2 social situations is viable for 4 interrelated reasons: both child maltreatment and adolescent pregnancy are social phenomena which demonstrate a dramatic increase in reported incidence in the past 25 years; both child maltreaters and adolescents who have experienced pregnancy appear to share multiple demographic or situational variables, i.e., minority overrepresentation, low income, low education, and high unemployment; the development of the maltreating event and the adolescent pregnancy reveal an unusual similarity, and the intergenerational aspects of both problems could well be strongly related to the snowball effect that these problems have on each other; and if the problems of child maltreatment and adolescent pregnancy are found to be symbiotic in their support of each other, rather than independent responses to a uniform social context, the direction of prevention efforts in these 2 areas could produce beneficial reductions in the rates of both problems. The best hope for the provision of prevention services in adolescent pregnancy rests within an alteration in public fears and misconceptions related to welfare dependency, contraceptive use, sexual education and information, and possibly even a general view of the adolescent in society. There is no question that contraceptive programming for the adolescent can serve as a vital preventive measure. The cornerstone of this service returns the perspective to education. Preventive services must include education for contraception, education for appropriate decision making, and education for survival of a parent and child. The community-based multidisciplinary system for the adolescent pregnancy or parent has been demonstrated to be the most effective model for programming today. It is also the most difficult program to find or or develop. Services to adolescents must begin as soon as community standards will permit them to be initiated to prevent the occurrence of the problem. Only when a collage of services in the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation realms is available for the individual adolescent can it be said that a meaningful program exists.

Keywords:

United States
North America
Adolescent Pregnancy
Pregnancy
Reproduction
Child Abuse
Crime
Personality Development
Personality
Behavior
Premarital Sex Behavior
Sex Behavior
Contraceptive Usage
Reproductive Behavior
Sex Education
Family Planning Education
Health Education
Education
Preventive Medicine
Medicine
Health Services
Delivery of Health Care
Incidence
Measurement
Biology
Attitude
Public Opinion
Group Processes
Psychological Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Child Rearing
Social Behavior
Maternal-Child Health Services
Literature Review
Prevention and Control
Stress
Mothers
Fathers
Developed Countries
Americas
Fertility
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Social Problems
Contraception
Family Planning
Health
Research Methodology
Economic Factors
Primary Health Care
Diseases
Parents
Family Relationships
Family Characteristics
Family and Household