Teenage Mothers' Socio-Economic Experiences of Teen Pregnancy in Low-Income Communities - Essay Sample

Introduction

The proposed topic is "the experiences of teenage mothers about the socio-economic aspects of teen pregnancy in a low-income community." Past empirical studies have reported the various social and economic effects of teen pregnancy. One of the social effects associated with motherhood in adolescence, also known as teen pregnancy, is school dropout (Panday, Makiwane, Ranchod, & Letsoala, 2015). There is an increased likelihood that adolescents who become pregnant will discontinue their education when they give birth because of the need to take care of their children. Young mothers who drop out of school have also been found to be at increased risk for more pregnancies (Rosenberg et al., 2015).

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Additionally, it has been reported that teenage mothers who drop out of school will have limited employment opportunities because they lack the relevant knowledge and skills needed to get jobs (Cook & Cameron, 2017). Moreover, low educational attainment among children has been linked to low-income jobs or low salaries (Cook & Cameron, 2017). Consequently, there is an increased likelihood that teenage mothers and their children will have poor health outcomes because of unemployment and lack of income.

Furthermore, past studies have shown that teenage pregnancy leads to social stigma. It has been established that adolescent mothers are more likely to be rejected by their peers because in many communities and all socioeconomic groups, the unmarried adolescent pregnancy carries social stigma because pregnancy in childhood is regarded as unwanted and unplanned (Afrose, 2015; Dowden et al., 2018; Weed & Nicholson, 2015). Even though past empirical studies have reported many social and economic effects associated with teenage pregnancy, no past empirical study has examined the socio-economic aspects of teen pregnancy in a low-income community. Consequently, the proposed study is aimed at addressing this knowledge gap.

Theory Related to the Proposed Study

The proposed study will utilize human capital theory- which will be used to address both the research problem. According to Kaawa-Mafigiri and Walakira (2017), motherhood in childhood has adverse effects on teenage mothers. The human capital theory asserts that the problem of teenage pregnancy is associated with increased opportunity costs of accumulation in human capital. That is, early motherhood deters human capital investment because adolescence is a vital stage where a person can achieve his or her full educational potential.

The theory further posits that because the majority of young mothers are highly likely to drop out of high school, there is a decreased likelihood that they will get college certification (Kaawa-Mafigiri & Walakira, 2017). Because of this, they are less likely to enter the labor market. This implies that teenage pregnancy is linked to unemployment and low-income. Consequently, teenage motherhood is associated with poor social and economic outcomes in adulthood. The human capital theory further maintains that early motherhood keeps young women from participation in the labor force because it is difficult to get employed and raise a child simultaneously. The human capital theory further explains that since teenage mothers are still at the early developmental stage of life, they are less likely to make appropriate psychological, social, and economic responsibilities. Because of this, adolescent mothers have high propensity of depending on welfare and being trapped in the poverty cycle.

Another theory that is related to the proposed study is selection view. Unlike the conventional view, the selection view hypothesizes that teenage motherhood does not necessarily lead to adverse effects for young mothers (Kaawa-Mafigiri & Walakira, 2017). Selection view also maintains that because most child mothers are from low socioeconomic households and communities, a postponement of childbearing may not help young women escape the poverty trap. Additionally, because child mothers face imperfect conditions and bleak prospects, early motherhood has been seen as an adaptive strategy. Specifically, early childbearing can be termed as a culturally appropriate response to poverty because when a teenager bears a child, there is an increased likelihood of getting socioeconomic support from relatives and neighborhoods. Because the negative consequences of early motherhood are an artifact of the preexisting socioeconomic disadvantages of teen mothers, this viewpoint highlights substantive knowledge regarding approaches in which adolescent mothers may systematically vary from other young women in order to assess the cause-effect association of teenage childbearing.

Reasons Why I Believe Human Capital Theory and Selection View Will Be Appropriate Framework to Use

The human capital theory is the most appropriate theoretical framework for the proposed study because it addresses the social and economic aspects of teenage pregnancy. For instance, according to Blunch (2018), the human capital theory suggests that teenage mother is less capable of taking care of the child at birth because of their low socio-economic status. Additionally, Blunch (2018) maintained that teenage pregnancy affects a child's future wellbeing because early pregnancy is associated with poor economic outcomes such as decreased employability and low income because of lack of appropriate knowledge and skills needed to secure jobs. In a related study, Gough (2017) noted that human capital theory explains the vital role played by minimal time out of the labor force in a person's labor market outcomes.

References

Afrose, T. (2015). Adolescent pregnancy, a social stigma. MOJ Anatomy & Physiology, 1(5). https://doi.org/10.15406/mojap.2015.01.00024

Blunch, N.-H. (2018). A teenager in love: Multidimensional human capital and teenage pregnancy in ghana. The Journal of Development Studies, 54(3), 557-573. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2017.1308486

Cook, S. M. C., & Cameron, S. T. (2017). Social issues of teenage pregnancy. Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine, 27(11), 327-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ogrm.2017.08.005

Dowden, A. R., Gray, K., White, N., Ethridge, G., Spencer, N., & Boston, Q. (2018a). A phenomenological analysis of the impact of teen pregnancy on education attainment: Implications for school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 16(8). Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1184922

Dowden, A. R., Gray, K., White, N., Ethridge, G., Spencer, N., & Boston, Q. (2018b). A phenomenological analysis of the impact of teen pregnancy on education attainment: Implications for school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 16(8). Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1184922

Gough, M. (2017). Birth spacing, human capital, and the motherhood penalty at midlife in the United States. Demographic Research, 37, 363-416. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.13

Kaawa-Mafigiri, D., & Walakira, E. J. (2017). Child abuse and neglect in Uganda. New York, NY: Springer.

Panday, S., Makiwane, M., Ranchod, C., & Letsoala, T. (2015). Teenage pregnancy in South Africa: With a specific focus on school-going learners. https://doi.org/http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/4711

Rosenberg, M., Pettifor, A., Miller, W. C., Thirumurthy, H., Emch, M., Afolabi, S. A., ... Tollman, S. (2015). Relationship between school dropout and teen pregnancy among rural South African young women. International Journal of Epidemiology, 44(3), 928-936. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyv007

Weed, K., & Nicholson, J. S. (2015). Differential social evaluation of pregnant teens, teen mothers and teen fathers by university students. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 20(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2014.963630