Pregnancy experiences among married adolescents.

Abstract

No studies have been made of the life-situational and dy namic factors in the pregnancies of married teenagers, whose numbers far outweigh those of unmarried mothers and whose life situations are very different. This paper discusses the experiences and adjustments made by teenage girls to the triple crises of adolescence, early marriage, and pregnancy.

Adolescent Pregnancy: A Review of the Literature

“…Since early motherhood is a form of accelerated role transition as well as a pattern of role transition at variance with social prescriptions, it is inherently stressful, according to Bacon (1974) and Plionis (1975). Girls who become pregnant in adolescence often face three crises concurrently-adolescence, early marriage, and pregnancy-each of which creates characteristic adjustment tasks for women (Konopka, 1967;LaBarre, 1968). Crumidy and Jacobziner (1966) found in their casework that most unwed mothers were generally unhappy or distressed.…”

More than playing house: A developmental perspective on the strengths in teenage motherhood.

“…We will review studies citing risks to the teenage mother and her child and those which seem to indicate that pregnancy, at least for some adolescents, may represent a positive attempt at maturation. Indeed, the fact of becoming a parent is seen by some as enhancing the young mother's ability to make a step toward a more separate and autonomous life 43 , 50…”

“…Moreover, teen motherhood may be an effective way to legitimize the life-styles and values that fall outside the middle-class norms. In a study of pregnancy in married adolescents, the family-class pattem of early marriage and motherhood was found to be the career of choice in “blue collar” families 43 . Adolescent girls in this class strengthen their identifications with their mothers and enhance their feminine identity, role, and status through early marriage and pregnancy.…”