This study aimed to investigate teenage mothers’ experiences of motherhood and their internal representations of their infants and the relationship between them. In addition, this study aimed to investigate whether there was a connection between teenage mothers’ experiences of parenting and their internal representations of their infants and the relationship between them. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, adapted from the Parent Development Interview and the Working Model of the Child Interview, four teenage mothers from Alexandra were interviewed. The data collected from these interviews was analysed using narrative analysis through the hermeneutic lens of psychoanalytic attachment theory. From the analysis, this study found that teenage mother’s experiences of motherhood were marked by challenge. The two main challenges faced by these young mothers were the tension they experienced between their identities as teenagers and their identities as mothers, and their struggle to provide for their infants and feel like good enough mothers. In addition, this study found that teenage mother’s internal representations of their infants included a representation of both the good baby and the bad baby, but, with the exception of one mother, their representations tended to remain split and the mothers seemed defended against their representations of the bad baby. In terms of their representations of the relationship between them, this study found that these teenage mothers’ representations of their relationship with their infants was lacking. These representations either consisted of a superficial representation of a good relationship between mother and infant, or no relationship at all. Finally, this study found that teenage mother’s experiences of motherhood and their internal representations of their infants and the relationship between them were connected. A number of factors that were found to influence both their experiences and their internal representations include their own mental states, their memoires of their own childhood and their representations of their caregivers, as well as the levels of social support they received. The study therefore concluded that teenage mothers’ experiences of motherhood and their internal representations of their infants and the relationship between them were connected, however further research is required to establish the causal relationship between these factors.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Anthropology Department of Anthropology Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand March 2017 / This study explores the experiences of teenage pregnancy and motherhood among two generations of mothers living in Johannesburg, South Africa. This engagement with gendered subjectivity took the form of ethnographic fieldwork conducted with three older women (35 to 42 years old) who gave birth between the ages of 16 and 18; as well as five young women aged 18-19 who became mothers during their teenage years. Using a social constructionist framework, the study explores the gendered nature of teenage pregnancy by discussing the narratives of women before and after having their first child. It argues that gendered experiences of teenage pregnancy play a crucial role in local understandings and practices of good motherhood. In particular, being a good mother for the older women in the study meant doing their best as parents to prevent teenage pregnancy in the younger generation. The women saw this as the best way to safeguard their daughters’ social reputations and educational futures in a context that considers teenage pregnancy to be unacceptable. When their attempts at preventing pregnancy proved unsuccessful, the older women were cast as inadequate parents who were partly to blame for their daughters’ pregnancies. / MT2018

Thesis (DTech (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / There are many challenges to girls' education. Each and every barrier is challenging in and of itself. Teenage pregnancy/motherhood is a major cause of schooling disruption. Research shows that about 4 in every 10 girls become pregnant at least once before age 20 (McDowell, 2003). In most cases, teen pregnancy/motherhood has resulted in the discontinuation of education for the girls, leading to the loss of a sustainable future. In South Africa, girls have the right to continue schooling in public schools even after becoming mothers. In the Western Cape, the Education Department introduced the Managing Learner Pregnancy Policy (MLPP) which guarantees pregnant or mothering learners a right to remain in public schools. Despite the MLPP, teen mothers face a number of challenges as learners - they feel marginalised by the schooling system. Consequently, it is not easy for the girls to succeed with their schooling. They experience pressure from teachers, fellow learners, parents and society. In most cases, the teen mothers receive very little support and they are usually misunderstood. Society perceives teen mothers as deviants, failures and irredeemable girls who can contaminate other girls and influence them to behave immorally. Teen mothers are stigmatised. The stigma and discourses that help to construct it are the forces that impact on the schooling processes of the teen mothers. In most cases, responses of educators, parents and communities towards teen mothers are affected by beliefs, values and attitudes situated in the discourses.

This treatise reports on a qualitative exploratory study that was aimed at identifying and describing the challenges experienced by single mothers who were students at a South African university. The researcher is of the view that single parenthood is a global challenge but very little has been done to explore this phenomenon in South Africa. A purposive convenience sample of four voluntary full time registered single mother students at a university in the Western Cape Province was utilised in the study. The participants ranged in age between eighteen and twenty three years and were English second language speakers. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with the four participants and the data were analysed into qualitative themes. The following main challenges for the sample of single mother university students emerged from the data: (i) Financial challenges. (ii) Concern for the general wellbeing of children. (iii) Difficulties regarding the separation of mother and child. (iv) The importance of tertiary education in finding future employment. (v) Dual role stress. Sub-themes within these main themes were also identified and discussed. Recommendations for future research, based on the findings of this study, are also offered.

Research Submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree MA in Psychology by Coursework and Research Report Wits School of Human & Community Development, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, June, 2016 / Research has found that teenage mothers are less likely to develop a positive parent child relationship and to form an emotional bond with the child because they are not prepared to be parent as teenagers. Since there is high rate of teenage pregnancy in South Africa, this would mean that there is a vast amount of teenage mothers in the country. Therefore, it would be expected that, it would be a challenge for these teenage mothers to form an emotional bond with their children. Hence the purpose of the study is to look at the socio-emotional development of children born to teenage mothers in the South African context. This was done by first investigating whether there was a relationship between teenage childbearing and the child’s social-emotional development in middle and late childhood and to determine whether the socio-emotional development of children born to teenage mothers differs significantly with the children that are not born to non-teenage mothers. This study adopted a non-experimental Ex-Post-Facto correlational Design. A self-designed biographical information questionnaire was used to measure the demographics. To measure social-emotional development in children, an Emotional Quotient Inventory: The preliminary results of the research indicate that the type of mother was a statistically significant predictor of the child’s social and emotional development. Furthermore, that the socio-emotional development of children born of teenage mothers was different from the socio-emotional development of children born to non-teenage mothers, as the social and emotional development of children born to teenage mothers was higher than that of children born to non-teenage mothers. The conclusion can be drawn that teenage childbearing does not seem to negatively influence the social and emotional development of children born to teenage mothers

A dissertation submitted to the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Demography and Population Studies, October 2017 / Teenage pregnancy is noted as one of the key development challenges in sub-Saharan Africa and globally due to its adverse social, health and demographic consequences. An avalanche of studies has emerged to identify the predictors of teenage pregnancy in South Africa which indicate a persistently high prevalence of teenage pregnancy. This study intends to examine how social disorganisation contributes to the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in South Africa. Social disorganisation is defined here as family disruption, service delivery inaccessibility, community unemployment and residential mobility. The theoretical basis of the study is the social disorganisation theory propounded by Shaw and McKay (1942). The theory was deemed appropriate due to its ability to investigate unfavourable factors beyond the individual-level occurring within society. This theory has not been applied to any teenage pregnancy study in South Africa. The data source for the study is South Africa’s 2011 census. The target population includes females aged 12 to 19. The study uses multilevel logistic regression modelling allowing heterogeneity at the individual and community levels to test the applicability of the theory in explaining teenage pregnancy. Results indicate that teenage pregnancy remains at critical levels with 3.97% of teenage females having given birth in the preceding year yet incidence among 15-19 year olds is 15 times higher than that of 12-14 year olds. Family forms other than two-parented marriages and communities with high levels of family disruption increase the likelihood of teenage pregnancy. Similarly, increasing household service delivery inaccessibility predisposes teenage females to higher odds of pregnancy, as expected. However, higher community unemployment was negatively associated with teenage pregnancy as were higher levels of residential mobility, which is contrary to previous international research findings. To this end, the study provides empirical evidence of the social disorganisation determinants of teenage pregnancy in South Africa. Additionally, the study shows the contribution of certain household and community factors in pregnancy likelihood among young women locally. In light of these findings it becomes necessary for practitioners to create intervention strategies that target these factors to curb the levels and chances of teenage pregnancy nationally. Furthermore, it is vital that government and other stakeholders financially support investigation and prevention campaigns that intentionally address contextual factors to increase adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Consequently, this study contributes to the investigation of structural derivatives to determine pertinent factors in the quest to decrease teenage pregnancy in South Africa. / XL2018

This research project looks at the experiences of a group of pregnant teenagers in a low socio-economic area. Teenage sexuality and pregnancy has been the subject of substantial research in South Africa and the rest of the world as it is a global issue. The challenge that pregnant teenagers face are to manage schooling, pregnancy and mothering rather than dropping out of school. This study was conducted using a qualitative research method through semi-structured interviews. The participants consisted of fourteen teenagers ranging from fifteen to eighteen years of age. The teenagers were either pregnant or had delivered their babies. They attended the local high school with the exception of one participant who had dropped out of school. I interviewed one Life Orientation educator from the local high school and one ante natal nursing sister from the local municipal clinic. Teenage pregnancy produced gender inequalities as the female adolescent is unable to attend school whilst recuperating from the birth of the child; the male continues attending school regardless of fathering the child. Culturally it was inappropriate to receive sex education at home so information was gained within the formal setting of Life Orientation classes, peers or social media. Due to varying degrees of familial support, the teenagers were able to return to school after the birth of their babies. The level of family support ranged from taking over full responsibility of the child so the adolescent continued with her former life to the teenager having to care for the child when returning from school and only being able to complete homework tasks once the baby was asleep. Agency was most apparent in the decision of abortion. The teenagers would not be forced into the procedure if it was not the option of their choice despite pressure from boyfriends and family. Teenagers also showed agency in ending relationships with their partners if the partner was dating other girls concurrently. However, they did not use agency in the negotiation of condom use despite stating that they were in equal relationships with their boyfriends. This indicates how structures may constrain agency, specifically structures that are located in gendered inequalities. The teenagers were knowledgeable about the facts of condom use as protection against pregnancy and disease but these facts were not put into practice. Discourses suggest female teenagers’ fear of being rejected by their partner through the insistence of condom use and male domination over the female.

Thesis (M.ED.) --University of Limpopo, 2007 / This report describes the research carried out in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, with Bohlabela District being used as a site of this study. The aim of the study was to investigate problems affecting young mothers in attending ABET classes in Bohlabela District in Limpopo Province. In order to achieve the aim outlined above, I formulated the following main research question: • What are the problems affecting the attendance of ABET classes by young mothers in Bohlabela District in the Limpopo Province? In trying to answer the question outlined above, I decided to undertake an explorative study in order to investigate problems affecting the attendance of ABET classes by young mothers in Bohlabela District in the Limpopo Province. In chapter 1 I further gave a description of South Africa in the apartheid era and the post-apartheid South Africa in terms of its geographical setup and education. The aim and objectives of the study and the research questions are indicated. The scope of the study is explained. In chapter 2 the theoretical foundation for the investigations of problems affecting the attendance of ABET classes by young mothers in Bohlabela District in the Limpopo Province is indicated. Factors such as time, curriculum, environment, family pressures and ignorance were discussed in this chapter. The chapter is starting with the definition of key concepts. In chapter 3 the research design of the study has been outlined. The data collection paths of the study have been discussed. The chapter explains how the data which had been collected from various places were analysed using qualitative data analysis methods. It concludes by discussing what I call ‘reflections’, a section that was about my main learning experiences and difficulties that I encountered during the process of this research. In chapter 4 I presented the findings of the study according to the views and perceptions of the interviewees. This section prepared the study for the next stage of the investigation where I established whether or not the findings provide answers to the research question. Chapter 5 is the concluding section where conclusions were made based on the findings of the investigation. Recommendations coming out of the study were made and finally recommendations for further study have been outlined.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / Adolescent motherhood is a major problem in many societies throughout the world. One of the problems these young mothers have to deal with is depression. Depression often results in the disengagement of mother-child interaction. Adolescent mothers who are identified as depressed are more at increased risk of future psychopathology, with additional effects on their future and infants‟ lives. The aim of this study investigates the influence of demographic factors (age and marital status) and social support on depression among high school teenage mothers in the Mankweng area in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Two hundred adolescent mothers took part in the study. One hundred of participants were mothers while the others were non-mothers. Their ages ranged between 15 and 19. A quantitative research design and methodology was employed. Correlation analysis method was also used to associate lack of social support with depression. Correlation analysis indicates that lack of social support was a significant factor negatively affecting teenage mothers‟ disposition to depression (r = -0.609, p < 0.01). T-test analysis which was used to compare the experience of depression among teenage mother base on different age group, indicates that age does not play a significant role for teenage mothers to experience depression (t = 1.409, df = 98; p > 0.05). T-test analysis was also used to compare the experience of depression on married teenage mother and unmarried teenage mothers, and indicates that teenage mothers experience depression irrespective of marital status (t = 1.091, df = 98; p > 0.05). It is recommended that professional counseling be provided to teenage mothers before they return to the school system after giving birth. Support from social welfare and family members are also key support system for the young mothers so that these bring psychological and social stability in their lives.

M.Cur. / Please refer to full text to view abstract