Goal Setting and Control Orientation of Pregnant/Parenting Female Adolescents in the GRADS Program

Abstract

The Graduation, Reality, and Dual‐role Skills (GRADS) home economics program helps at‐risk pregnant/parenting teens graduate from high school, set life goals, and feel empowered. The major purpose of this research was to ascertain if female GRADS students differed from nonpregnant/nonparenting female teens on types of goals seen as most important, goal orientation, and locus of control. Comparisons were made among GRADS students in the program for 1 year or more, GRADS students new to the program, and a group of English class female students who were neither pregnant nor parenting. Data were analyzed from 151 females at eight New Mexico sites. There were significant differences regarding most important goals, but no significant differences in goal orientation or locus of control among the three groups. Pregnant and/or parenting teens were more like their nonpregnant/nonparenting peers than different. The differences in goals appeared to reflect different priorities.

Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents’ Perception of Sources and Supports in Relation to Educational Goals

“…These perceptions are critical because the importance of achievable aspirations among pregnant and mothering teens has been clearly established (White and Cummings 1995;Werner and Smith 1992;Furstenber et al 1987;Furstenberg et al 1989;Leadbeater 1996). Present results add a new dimension to the educational support literature by directly examining the perceptions of pregnant and mothering adolescents.…”

“…Although a causal relationship has not been established, girls' aspirations and goals for the future often go unfulfilled after having a baby (Barbour et al 1993). Not only do aspirations contribute to achievement levels among adolescent mothers, but also help to ease the transition into the parent role (White and Cummings 1995). Longitudinal studies have shown that aspirations and school support act as protective factors against the stressors adolescent mothers face (Werner and Smith 1992;Furstenberg et al 1987;Furstenberg et al 1989;Leadbeater 1996).…”

The Career Development of Adolescent Mothers: A Review of 25 Years of Professional Literature

“…The quantitative studies tended to use a larger number of participants, to be nonexperimental, and to be primarily cross-sectional and comparative in design (e.g., Hansford & Drummond, 1992;Klaw & Rhodes, 1995). The data collection methods were typically interviews (e.g., White & Cummings, 1995) or focus groups (e.g., Blinn, 1990), with only one study not using some form of verbal communication with participants to gather data (Hansford & Drummond, 1992). Several researchers developed questionnaires to gather specific information of interest from participants (e.g., Klaw et al, 2003).…”

“…One third of the studies indicated that adolescent mothers' career development skills need further development (e.g., White & Cummings, 1995). For example, Ortiz and Bassoff (1987) found that 80% of participants identified career goals for their future but did not know how to achieve their goals.…”

The different paths to high school graduation for young mothers

“…Pregnant and parenting young women are permitted to attend publ1c school and a vanety of programs des1gned espec1ally to support them have sprung up across Canada and the Un1ted States (Furstenberg 1976, MacN1der, 1998Pol1t & Kahn, 1987Ray & Roloff, 1994Roosa . 1986. Wh1te & Cumm1ngs 1995.…”