CHAPTER II

This chapter present the various literature to the effect of teenage pregnancy.The written

researcher made from the past would be the bases of this study, show how the researchers made

their own way to better ways for us. This chapter present the related literature and studies,

foreign, and local that gives bearing to the present study.

Related literature and study help the researchers understand their topic better it clarifies

vague points about the given problem. It is also guides the researchers in making comparisons

their findings with result of other studies.

Related Literature Foreign

The purpose of this section of the study is to provide a review of relevant literature that

focuses on questions related to effects of teenage pregnancy. The introduction to this study

offered an overview of the extent of the problem, its effects and outcomes, and a conceptual

framework in which it was asserted that peer pressure to begin sexual activity coupled with low

self-esteem may very well be instrumental in placing some girls at risk for pregnancy young

during adolescence (Santor, Messervey, A Busmakar), (2000).Presented below will be a

discussion of first, the extent of teen pregnancy in the United States and secondly, a description

of some of the outcomes, effects, and impacts of teenage pregnancy and childbirth on teenagers

and their offspring. There review will conclude with a description of some of the interventions

that have been developed to reduce what has been characterized as a major public health problem

in the United States (Sawhill, (2006).

The Guttmacher )nstitute (2006), a New York City based research organization, reported

on the incidence of teenage pregnancy in the United States. Each year almost 750,000 females
between the ages of 15 and 19 become pregnant. The teenage pregnancy rate in this country is at

its lowest level in 30 years, down 36 percent since it speak in11990 at the same time, the

problem continues to be significant and to represent a major challenge to educators, health care

providers, and social service support systems.

The good news, according to the Guttmacher institute (2006), is that the teenage birth rate

in (2000) was 30 percent lower than the peak rate of 61.8 births per 1,000 women which was

reached in1991. Between 1988 and 2000, teenage pregnancy rates declined in every state and in

the District of Columbia. The Guttmacher , Institute(2006) also reported that among black

women aged 15 TO 19 the pregnancy rate fell by 40 percent between1990 and 2002, while

declining by 34 percent among white teenagers in the same time period. Among Hispanic

teenagers, who may be of any race, the pregnancy rate increased slightly from 1991to 1992 but

by 2002 was 19 percent lower than the 1990 rate.

Generally, states with the largest numbers of teenagers tend to have the greatest number

of teenage pregnancies. The Guttmacher Institute (2006), identified the following states as

having the highest number of adolescent pregnancies: CaTexas, New York, Florida, and Illinois.

The smallest numbers of teenage pregnancies occur California, red in Vermont, North Dakota,

Wyoming, South Dakota, and Alaska each of which reported fewer than 2000 pregnancies

among those between the ages of 15 and 19.

These data are promising and do tend to suggest that there is reason to believe that teen

pregnancies are declining. Nevertheless, health care professionals, educators, and social workers

make note of the fact that 700,000 to 800,000 births to adolescents each year is a highly

undesirable phenomenon.
Naomi Ear- Yam (2000) pointed out that teenagers have been having babies since the beginning

of time and this is still a norm in much of the world. In the United States, teenage motherhood

has been identified as an epidemic and a problem worthy of debate, research, and policy

initiatives. In the United States, Ear-Yam (2000) noted that teenage childbearing

disproportionately affects poor, black, and rural girls than their middle class urban counterparts

because, in part, middleclass teens become pregnant are more likely to terminate their

pregnancies. Because this is the case, Ear-Y m (2000) suggests that it is difficult to know the

actual extent of teen pregnancies in the 1.4 or to determine whether or not there is any

meaningful correlation between such variables as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status and

the decision to continue or terminate a pregnancy.

The adolescent is faced with many decisions and needs accurate information on topics

such as body changes, sexual activity, emotional responses within intimate sexual relationships,

STD’s, and pregnancy. In the United States 70% of adolescents have had sexual intercourse by

the age of 18 (Kenney et al, 1998). A substantial number of these teenagers do not protect

themselves from pregnancy or STD’s. The dynamics of sexual risk taking are not fully

understood, but numerous studies have found correlations between drug/alcohol use,

sexual abuse, and unsafe sex. (Keller et al. 2001; Kenney et al, 2000).

Adolescents tend to have a sense of being invulnerable, believing that

unwanted pregnancy; STD’s and other negative outcomes of sexual behavior are not likely to

happen to them (Keller et al, 2000). Adolescent parents face different barriers. According to

Spivak: “it has been acknowledged that adolescent parents tend to come in high risk families

have poor academic achievement, and lived in our most disadvantaged communities and
therefore, biologic, economic, and behavioral factors Contribute to the increased likelihood of

teenager having children who are vulnerable to physical and developmental problems.

The above cited literature is connected the current study for teenage pregnancy by

showing the effect.Teenage parents face many obstacles to economic and social success, and

these further influence the environment in which their children grow up. Adolescent also

experience many difficulties in adjusting to parenthood and display a range of

suboptimal parenting practices, whereas some of these appears highly resistant to change, others

have clinical, programmatic, and policy implications.

The “Lack of Parental Guidance Contributes to Teen Pregnancy”, states that most

 people evade their children from talking about sex. In some case they provide false information

regarding sex and discourage their children to participate in any informative discussion about

sex. Also teenage mothers are not well educated about sex before getting pregnant and thus this

leads to lack of communication between the parents and their children (Hoffman2004).

Consequently, there can be no “one size fits all” conclusion here. But at the same time, it

is possible and useful to describe the average effect of teenage childbearing and recognizing that

the average conceals underlying variation in both directions. Measuring the socio-economic

effects of early childbearing sounds like it ought to be a simple task. After all, everyone knows

that teenage mothers are much worse off on many dimensions than women who delay

childbearing. Their family incomes are lower, they are more likely to be poor and to be receiving

welfare, and they are likely to be married. Additionally, their children lag on standard measures

of early development. But such facts by themselves do not establish that a teenage birth is the

single cause of those problems or what if we could successfully

would greatly alter her life circumstances. Early aged pregnancy has its effect on the socio-

economic status of the child bearing teenage. Berrington (2013) emphasized that: policies aimed

at reducing inequalities in adult health need to take a life-long perspective and to tackle social

disadvantages across the life course. Teenage motherhood is an important independent pathway

through which poor socio-

economic conditions in childhood translate into higher rates of both mentaland overall ill health

adulthood. The poorer mental health of teenage mothers’ has implications for the subsequent

generation and hence contributes to the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage.

Related Literature LOCAL

Teenage pregnancy is not like any other issue there in the whole world although it seems

to be a common concern, it does not seem to bother people that much. Not until they are

personally affected by the issue or until they finally realized that it had been increasing in

number of affected people that it slowly reached an abnormal stage or the point that it affected

too many lives already and too many aspects of living. Teenage pregnancy is mostly unplanned,

and as a result, people react to the experience differently. The teenager has to come to terms with

the unexpected demands of being an adult, and in some cases, she may also have to deal with

disapproval and dissatisfaction shown by significant others like parents and relatives ( Clemen

2002).

According to Macleod and Durrheim (2003),teenage pregnancy as a social problem that

leads to the disruption of schooling' poor obstetric outcomes, inadequate mothering' poor child

outcomes' relationship difficulties with relatives, partners and peers' and demographic concerns

about increasing population numbers. In major cases, teenage mothers are not in a position to go
back to school after delivery as they are forced to look after their children. In some cases, these

young mothers’ physical health conditions do not make it conducive for them to go back to

school. While some young women may be prevented from going back to school as a result of

these factors, De Jang (2001), found that there are some cases of teenagers who may use their

pregnant status to deliberately escape the demands of high school education.

According to the psychodynamic theory, depression is presented as a disorder that can be

linked to real or imagined object loss (Gee and Rhodes 2003. According to Cebu Normal

University, Cebu City, Philippines GIDDENS (20031:23) cultural factors refer to culture as the

way of life of the members of a society, or of groups within a society. It includes how people

dress, their marriage customs and family life, their patterns of work, religious ceremonies and

leisure pursuits. Socialization is also a factor. Be defines socialization as the process by which

humans learn the culture of their society and become adult members of that society in which they

live. Socialization teaches humans to live in society and what is regarded as appropriate behavior

in different situations (Giddens 2001:26).Cultural norms and values could be the detriment of

teenage mother’s empowerment and could contribute to greater confusion in teenagers minds

(Dlamini 2002:450).

A study of Ehlers (2003), found that the female adolescents who were poor students with

low educational aspirations were more likely to become teenage mothers than were their high-

achieving peers. In the other hand, he also stated some of the causes of teenage pregnancy such as lack of

parental guidance, adolescent sexual behavior, inadequate knowledge about safe sex, exploitation by older men

and socio-economic factors.

In relation to the effect of teenage pregnancy, Lack of parental guidance: Most people evade their children

from talking about sex. In some cases, they provide false information regarding sex and discourage their children
to participate in any informative discussion about sex. Adolescent sexual behavior: Among the adolescents, peer

pressure is a major factor that encourages the teenage boys and girls to indulge in sexual activities. Early dating, as

early as 12 years of age, is another factor that contributes to teen pregnancy. Inadequate knowledge about safe sex:

Most adolescents are unaware of safe sex. They probably have no access to the traditional methods of preventing

pregnancy. And the main reason behind is that they are either too embarrassed or fear to seek information about it.

Exploitation by older men: This is another major factor that contributes to pregnancy among the teenagers. Those

girls who date older men are more likely to become pregnant before they attain womanhood.0ape, sexual

exploitation also takes place that leads to unwanted pregnancy among teenage girls. Socio-economic factors:

Teenage girls who belong to the poor families are more likely to become pregnant..

According to Quinlivan et al., (2003; 203), lack of educational achievement is a risk factor not only

because of limited career and educational opportunities but also because of its correlation with a lack of motivation

and ambition young people uncertain of a purpose in life or a career objective identify parenting as a future role

(Quinlivan (2004:202). According to Williams (2005;75) adolescents generally encounter more problems during

pregnancy and child birth than older women. The long: term effects of pregnancies are far reaching and teenage

mothers face difficulties such as dropping out of school. The problems encountered maybe physical,

psychological, social, academic and emotional. Dlamini (2002:178) stated in his study the problems that might

affect the pregnant adolescents’ psychologically, emotionally and also the social relations with the people around

them, including the support from individuals. And also there are some challenges that they encountered such as,the

father of the child were not willing to support or even denied for being a father and non-acceptance of pregnancy

by the adolescents parents. Adolescent pregnancy and child birth impose difficult long-term outcomes and have

adverse effects not only on the young mother, but also on her child (Hao & Cherlin, 2004 Meade & Ickovics,

2005. A study of Darisi (2007) stated that a negative perspective on teen pregnancy leads to a negative view of

pregnant teens. The young woman who becomes pregnant sets in motion a series of events that ultimately leads to
the disaster of a teen birth. The pregnant teen becomes a statistic and assumptions are made about her character,

intelligence and maturity. Young mothers are often well: aware of these assumptions. According to Ioannidi -

Bapolou (2004), lack of accurate information on sex education is one of the reasons for the increasing number of

unwanted pregnancies among teenagers. However, Watson (2003) stated that a strategy can be successful only

when a multi-agency tasked group is formed with representatives that provide services and work closely with

children and young people. AUTHOR:Angeline M. Pogoy,Ed. Rustica Verzosa, Ed. D. Nerlie

S.Coming,Rosanalissa G. Augusto CeBU Normal Universiy.Cebu City, Philippines.

Torivillas (2013) The Philippine Star noted that there is evidence supporting the Reproductive health law

that calls for sexuality education among young students. Not that for teaching the kids to engage in “safe” sex, but

rather, for telling them why they should not engage in early sex, and yes, before marriage. With regulated sexuality

education, the young are informed about sex, pregnancy, unplanned and planned, instead of through the internet or

pornographic magazines that somehow manage to reach them .Peep into their rooms and see copies of Playboy

and Pent house and other sexy publications tucked between the bed sheets, and for-adults-only videos in the

internet. The factors that triggers the Teenage pregnancy in the country are:

Family problems, broken family/complicated family, peer pressure/bad influence,Media/Television/Movies

Influential Trends (regarding sex), pornography, lack of attention, love, caring, lack of moral values, failure to

nurture with good principle, curiosity, lack of information about Sex (sex education), use of illegal drugs, lack of

Guidance, prostitution (involve poverty), unintelligent decision etc. (Discover questions in the Philippines,

2013).Murrah (2003) defined adolescence as a period when many physical,

emotional psychological and social changes are taking place there is no way to predict how particular youth 

will behave sexually. Many adolescents at this age explore relationship and fall in and out of love. They are

exploring intimacy, establishing independence from their families and achieving their own identity they are trying

out new ideas

(hubpages.com/hub/adolescent sexuality).In the Philippines, NSO (2013) showed in their data that 13-14 percent

of all registered marriage is among teenagers below 20 years old while data from the National Youth Commission

showed that the rate of teen pregnancy in the country is among the highest in the ASEAN region and the only

country where the rate is increasing. The global issue of teen pregnancy is the reason why the annual celebration of

World Population Day- July 11- lead by United Nations Population Fund, focuses on addressing teen pregnancy.

Related Studies

Foreign

According to Advocates for Youth, “Adolescent mothers are less likely to

complete their education and are most likely to face limited career and economic

opportunities compared to women whose first child is born after the age of 20. “A child

whose mother has no education is twice as likely to drop out of school then one whose mother is

educated and an estimated one-third of adolescents, who are teen parents, are products of teenage

pregnancies. Fergusson, Horwood, Woodward, (2001).

Our purpose is to show the most importance of sex knowledge to the teenager so that they lessen

the curiosity on what sex. In order to have a teaching a contraceptives and measure their

teaching effectiveness. In this study relation to the present study, the effect of teenage pregnancy

also aims to show that who are teen age in a case can’t back to study.
 According to Cultivation Theory, television is the most powerful storyteller in the

culture, one that continually respects the myths and ideologist, the facts and patterns of

relationships that define and legitimize the social order.

According to the cultivation hypothesis, a steady dose of television, over time, acts like

the pull of gravity toward an imaged center. This pull results in a shared set of conceptions and

expectations about reality among otherwise diverse viewers. Gerbner, Gross, (2001).Kinsman et.

al (2004) conducted a study that focused on the role of peer norms in early sexual initiation of

sixth-grade students found that those who were sexually initiatedwere significantly more likely

that others to be older (11.9 years versus 11.6 years), male(58 percent versus 37 percent),

attending a poorer school (87 percent versus 85 percent),and living in an area with a high

proportion of single-parent families (45p percent versus41 percent).

Giocolea’s (2009) study on risk factors of pregnancy among adolescent girls

found that early sexual debut; non-use of conception during first sexual intercourse, living in a

very poor household, having suffered from sexual abuse during childhood pregnancies, there

is an effect on the economy. The effects of teenage pregnancies on the economy are not felt

immediately, but are long term. Gearhart's (2008) study on teen pregnancy, linked to viewing of

sexual content on TV, found that adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television

programs that on train sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the

following three years as their peers who watch few such shows.

Crystal’s (2001) study on factors associated on sexual behaviour among

adolescent asserted that sexual behaviour depends largely on societal constrictions and the level

of cultural permissiveness, which dictates the modes of sexual practices. Biological determinants

peers, religious institution.

Chan’s (2005) study on adolescent sexuality sample of Hong Kong young woman

on the determinants of premarital sex revealed the guidance of parents is still effective in

avoiding such behavior. They are showed that once a youngwomen begins dating, her chances of

having premarital sex increases, more so when kissing has taken place. Hall (2008) a renowned

American psychologist, believed that the stage of adolescence reflected a stage in the human

evolutionary past when there was a great deal of upheaval and disorder- with the result that

adolescents experience a great deal of

“storm and stress” as a standard part of their development. According to Hall the time of

storm and stress is reflected through 2 types of difficulties: conflict with parents, and

risk behaviours. Conflict with parents can be explained by the fact that as a child grows into an

adolescent, he develops an autonomous behavior leading to the want of beingindependent. As a

result of this, adolescents approach different sources of informationsuch as the media. Depending

on their rate of development, some adolescents maysuccumb to media influences, while other

may not.

Local

Dela Cruz (2002) claimed that catholic high school students were less sexually active and less

likely to have engaged in premarital sex than public high school students. In college, the
religiously non fraternity male students were less likely to have sex than fraternity students.

Similarly, the religiously non-sorority female students were less likely in engage in sex that

sorority student. It is believed that peer pressure may have overpowered the effects religious

beliefs in the students. In an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer by Singson, (2008) noted that

statistics in the Philippines show that each year, almost 1 million teenage women 10 percent of

all women aged 15-19 and 19 percent of those who have had sexual intercourse become pregnant

and one-fourth of teenage mothers have a second child within two years of their first. While in

the Philippines, based on the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study by the University

of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and the Demographic Research and Development

Foundation, 26 percent of Filipino youth nationwide from ages 15 to 25 admitted to having a

premarital sex experience. And 38 percent of the youth are already in a live-in arrangement.

The similarities between the present study, is that, they are both trying to make lessen

were sexually active and less likely to have engaged in premarital sex. In the present, pregnancy

is not like any other issue there in the whole world although it seems to be a common concern, it

does not seem to bother people that much. Not until they are personally affected by the issue or

until they finally realized that it had been increasing in number of affected people that it slowly

reached an abnormal stage or the point that it affected too many lives already and too many

aspects of living.

The National Youth Commission, supported by the Department of Health and the World

Health Organization, convened the 2014 National Summit on Teen Pregnancy last April 24. This

summit, which saw the active participation of adolescent youth, delivered a clear message:

Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), or the lack there of, is fast becoming the
defining issue of this generation of young Filipinos. Without a robust response from all

stakeholders, the Philippines is on track toward a full-blown, national teenage pregnancy crisis.

According to Josefina Natividad, (2014), YAFS coordinator and director of the

University of the Philippines Population Institute, young Filipinos have limited access to sex

education and ASRH services, especially if they are underage and unmarried.

Seventy-eight percent are not using any form of contraception or protection against sexually

transmitted diseases and infections when they are having sex for the first time. While

government programs aim to delay the beginning of childbearing and hasten fertility decline,

teenage pregnancies continue to increase Data showed that pregnant teenagers in the Philippines

are mostly 17 to 19 years old. They live with their mothers, parents, or relatives. The father of

the child is, in most cases, a teenage boy. The reasons for becoming pregnant among teenagers

include: unplanned sexual encounters (“getting caught up in the moment”) and peer pressure;

lack of information on safe sex; breakdown of family life and lack of good female role model sin

the family; and absence of accessible, adolescent-friendly clinics. from poor backgrounds are

disproportionately represented

among pregnant teenagers. However, experts have argued that teenage pregnancy should beunde

rstood as a symptom of dire economic conditions rather than a cause of it.

Teenage pregnancy perpetuates the cycle of poverty and inequality because most pregnant

teenagers have no source of income and face greater financial difficulties later in life. This is

because they drop out of school and are less likely to pursue further education or skills training.

Teenage mothers face critical health risks, including: inadequate nutrition during pregnancy

due to poor eating habits; dangers associated with the reproductive organs not ready for birth;
and maternal death due to higher risk of eclampsia, among others. Alarmingly, while maternal

deaths are decreasing in the Philippines, teenage maternal deaths are increasing.

In the relation to the present study, The effect of teenage pregnancy also aims to show the

different kind of effect that can make teenage life miserable. On the other hand,the similarities is

the reasons for becoming pregnant among teenagers unplanned sexual encounters and peer

pressure; lack of information on safe sex; breakdown of family life and without parent guidance;

and absence of accessible, adolescent-friendly clinics. This study will give benefits to the school

and student to learn the importance of life, time, and discipline their selves.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

In this study a qualitative exploratory design was used, allowing the researchers to get
an in-depth understanding of the socio-educational problems faced by Student
Mothers. Qualitative research has the advantage of uncovering the lived experiences of
individuals by enabling them to interpret and attribute meaning to their experiences
and in the process construct their worlds (Merriam and Simpson 2000, as cited in Berg
&Mamhute, 2013)

Respondents of the Study

Respondents of the study are the student mothers of Lourdes College, in the second
semester of S.Y. 2014-2015. There were a number of three (3) identified single mothers
in Lourdes College who volunteered and provided time to participate in this study.

Research Instrument

The primary tool used in gathering data was in a form of a one-on-one interview with
the respondents. The interview was focused on the challenges, coping strategies,
realizations of student mothers.

Sampling Procedure
In this study, the researcher used purposive sampling in which the researcher chose only
student mothers who are caring for a child below seven (7) years of age and are
studying in Lourdes College.

Data Gathering Procedure

Prior to data gathering, the researcher prepared an informed consent letter to be given
to the respondents of the study, voluntary participation was highly emphasized in the
letter of consent.

The data-gathering procedure was done in a form of one-to-one interview in which the
researcher took written notes. All interviews were tape recorded. The interviews were
informal and open ended, and carried out in a conversational style.

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