Social Environmental Factor of Unwanted Pregnancy: An Experience of Mothers and Adolescents with An Unwanted Pregnancy
Abstract
Unwanted pregnancy among adolescents is a global issue in urban and rural areas around the world. There are many factors that influence the incident of unwanted pregnancy. This study intends to identify the social environmental factors that cause unwanted pregnancies among adolescents. A qualitative research design was employed to gain mothers’ and adolescents’ perspectives on their experiences of the social environmental factors in unwanted pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews with five Malay mothers and five Malay adolescents took place in a government shelter home, workplaces, and their homes in Selangor. This study employed a thematic analysis to analyse the results. The findings indicate that the four themes of social environmental factors causing unwanted pregnancies among adolescents are (a) family structure, (b) couple problems, (c) father’s attention, and (d) peer pressure. All themes are significant in influencing unwanted pregnancies among adolescents. This study provided insights about the hard times, challenges, and stressors that make the adolescents feel uncomfortable and stressed, hence they find someone else to help them ease such feelings. Although unwanted pregnancy is a worldwide issue, the family and the caregiver should pay more attention to the adolescents because it will result in stress and adolescents with a disrupted family structure have an increased risk of unwanted pregnancy. These adolescents may specially benefit from specific preventive programmes in order to reduce the number of adverse outcomes.
Downloads
References
Aluga & Okolie (2021). Health Promotion Perspectives, 11(4), 426-429.
Berk, L.E. (2000). Child Development (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 23-38
Bernet, W., Wamboldt, M. Z., & Narrow, W. E. (2016). Child affected by parental relationship distress. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 55(7), 571–579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2016.04.018
Brahmbhatt, H., Kågesten, A., Emerson, M., Decker, M. R., Olumide, A. O., Ojengbede, O., Lou, C., Sonenstein, F. L., Blum, R. W., & Delany-Moretlwe, S. (2014). Prevalence and determinants of adolescent pregnancy in urban disadvantaged settings across five cities. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55(6), S48–S57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.07.023]
Bronfenbrenner U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Braun, V., & Clarke, B. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Corcoran, J., Franklin, C. & Bennett, P. (2000). Ecological factors associated with adolescent pregnancy and parenting. Social Work Research, 24(1), 29-39.
Dangal, G. (2005). An update on teenage pregnancy. The Internet Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 5(1), 1–13.
Fakari, F. R., Simbar, M., Ghasemi, V., & Gharenaz, M. S. (2017). Inhibitors and facilitators of unwanted adolescent pregnancy in Iran and the world: A review. Evidence Based Care Journal, 7(2), 59–70.
Habitu, Y. A., Yalew, A., & Bisetegn, T. A. (2018). Prevalence and factors associated with teenage pregnancy, Northeast Ethiopia, 2017: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Pregnancy, 2018, Article 1714527. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1714527
Hoffmann, J. P. (2017). Family structure and adolescent substance use: An international perspective. Substance Use & Misuse, 52(13), 1667–1683. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2017.1305413
Ibrahim, M. H., Somers, J. A., Luecken, L. J., Fabricius, V. W., & Cookston, J. T. (2017). Father-adolescent engagement in shared activities: Effects on cortisol stress response in young adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(4), 485–494. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000259
Macedo Prietsch, S. O., González-Chica, D. A., César, J. A., & Mendoza-Sassi, R. A. (2011). Unplanned pregnancy in southern Brazil: Prevalence and associated factors. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 27(10), 1906–1916. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2011001000004
Maness, S. B., Buhi, E. R., Daley, E. M., Baldwin, J. A., & Kromrey, J. D. (2016). Social determinants of health and adolescent pregnancy: An analysis from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(6), 636–643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.02.006
Mathewos, S., & Mekuria, A. (2018). Teenage pregnancy and its associated factors among school adolescents of Arba Minch Town, Southern Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences, 28(3), 287–298. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejhs.v28i3.6
Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Miller, B. C., Benson, B., & Galbraith, K. A. (2001). Family relationships and adolescent pregnancy risk: A research synthesis. Developmental Review, 21(1), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1006/drev.2000.0513
Mmari, K., & Blum, R. W. (2004). Risk and protective factors affecting adolescent reproductive health in developing countries: An analysis of adolescent sexual and reproductive health literature from around the world. World Health Organization.
Mmari, K., & Sabherwal, S. (2013). A review of risk and protective factors for adolescent sexual and reproductive health in developing countries: An update. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(5), 562–572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.07.018
Modesto, O, P. (2020). Understanding Factors Linked to Adolescent Pregnancy: A Review of the Literature, Research in Higher Education Journal, 38.
Mohamad Nor, A., Ahmad Shah, S. S., Balasingam, U., & Nor Zainudin, Z. (2019). The turning point in an unwanted teenage pregnancy: A psychoemotional perspective. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 15(SUPP1), 30–36.
Mushwana, L., Monareng, L., Richter, S., & Muller, S. (2015). Factors influencing the adolescent pregnancy rate in the Greater Giyani Municipality, Limpopo Province – South Africa. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 2, 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2015.01.001
Panova, O. V., Kulikov, A. M., Berchtold, A., & Suris, J. C. (2016). Factors associated with unwanted pregnancy among adolescents in Russia. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 29(5), 501–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2016.04.004
Pedrosa, A. A., Pires, R., Carvalho, P., Canavarro, M. C., & Dattilio, F. (2011). Ecological contexts in adolescent pregnancy: The role of individual, sociodemographic, familial and relational variables in understanding risk of occurrence and adjustment patterns. Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, 33(2), 107–127.
Sámano, R., Martínez-Rojano, H., Robichaux, D., Rodríguez-Ventura, A. L., Sánchez-Jiménez, B., de la Luz Hoyuela, M., Godínez, E., & Segovia, S. (2017). Family context and individual situation of teens before, during and after pregnancy in Mexico City. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 17, 382. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1570-7
Santos, M. I., & Rosário, F. (2010). A score for assessing the risk of first-time adolescent pregnancy. Pediatric Research, 68, 482–488. https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-201011001-00184
Seidel, J. V. (1998). Qualitative data analysis. Qualis Research.
Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Tabei, K., Cuisia-Cruz, E. S. S., Smith, C., & Seposo, X. (2021). Association between teenage pregnancy and family factors: An analysis of the Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey 2017. Healthcare, 9(12), Article 1720. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9121720
Thrasher, L. (2015). Impact of environmental and individual risk factors on pregnant and parenting teenagers [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. Walden Dissertation and Doctoral Studies. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1371
Trevor, S. (2002). Teenage pregnancies are influenced by family structure [letter]. BMJ, 324(7328), 51. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7328.51a
VanderValk, I., Spruijt, E., de Goede, M., Maas, C., & Meeus, W. (2005). Family structure and problem behavior of adolescents and young adults: A growth-curve study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-8841-8
Vázquez-Nava, F., Vázquez-Rodriguez, C. F., Saldívar-González, A. H., Vázquez-Rodríguez, E. M., Córdova-Fernández, J. A., Felizardo-Ávalos, J., & Sánchez-Márquez, W. (2013). Unplanned pregnancy in adolescents: Association with family structure, employed mother, and female friends with health-risk habits and behaviors. Journal of Urban Health, 91(1), 176–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-013-9819-6
Wamoyi, J., Fenwick, A., Urassa, M., Zaba, B., & Stones, W. (2011). Parental control and monitoring of young people’s sexual behaviour in rural North-Western Tanzania: Implications for sexual and reproductive health interventions. BMC Public Health, 11(1), Article 106. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-106
Yoon, S., Bellamy, J. L., Kim, W., & Yoon, D. (2018). Father involvement and behavior problems among preadolescents at risk of maltreatment. Journal of Child and Family Study, 27(2), 494–504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0890-6
_[eISSN___2504-8562]_-_Google_Scholar_-_Google_Chrome_30_11_2023_8_56_06_AM.png)
.png)
