Background

Adolescence is widely accepted as one the most difficult periods in one’s life-span and is characterised by significant life events, health risks and maturational challenges. Teenagers globally and most notably within South Africa, have a range of age-specific health risks that include an increased risk of being a victim of violence, increased risk of suicide, increased risk of accidental death and an increased risk of unplanned pregnancy for female adolescent girls. On average, within South Africa, up to 11% of teenagers have an unplanned pregnancy and this is inspite of the number of national interventions that have been implemented over the last 20 years.

Aim /Objective

The aim of the study was to explore the range of socioeconomic influences that contribute to teenage pregnancies in schools in order to develop theory and support the development of contextually relevant recommendations and/or policy interventions related to the management of teenage pregnancy.

Methods

This study was based on a multi-approach qualitative design in which data was collected over three empirical phases. Phase 1 was In-depth interviews of policy makers, young mothers, young fathers and community leaders who were purposively sampled until data saturation was reached. Phase 2 involved five-hybrid focus group discussions each made up of young parents, community leaders, policy makers, pregnant and non-pregnant female teenagers (each had between 8-10 participants). Phase 3 included in-depth individual interviews of (n=15) pregnant teenagers, In-depth individual interviews of (n=6) non-pregnant teenagers and In-depth individual interviews of (n=15) young mothers and father using purposive sampling until saturation was achieved. The Final phase was primarily a theory-development and validation aspect in which stakeholders were engaged in Delphi-type discussions as part of a theory validation process.

Findings

Results of the study revealed that teenagers agreed that socioeconomic and cultural practices both acted to encourage and discourage sexual activities. A notable view expressed by participants was that teenage pregnancies were seen with different levels of seriousness by different types of teenagers and many did not always appreciate the seriousness of resulting consequences. Similarly, teenage participants highlighted a number of perceptions about contraceptive usage that demonstrated a serious lack of appropriate health education. Lack of parental supervision, high usage of alcohol and loss of moral values were cited as contributory influences towards increased risk of pregnancy.

Implications for practice

Policy makers need to take account of non-traditional contributory factors to teenage pregnancy in the development of practice policy. It is equally important that, along with socioeconomic influences, cultural factors be integrated as noteworthy influences in teenage sexual behaviours.