Thesis (MTech. degree in Nursing)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2010. / Teenage pregnancy is a major public health problem for this age group in many countries. The consequences of early childbearing are a reduced likelihood of school completion and a decreased opportunity of a high earning career. The motivation of this study was twofold, the increase in the terminations of pregnancies in Soshanguve and the lack of guidelines for health professionals to prevent teenage pregnancy. The research question for the study was using the Johnson Behavioural System Model as basis.

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

Teenage pregnancy in South Africa, especially amongst teenage learners has become a national crisis with an estimated average of 5000 girls between the ages of 12 and 19 falling pregnant in one school year (Headlines Africa, 2012). This study focused on how process drama was applied with adolescent learners at Supreme Educational College in Johannesburg, to investigate the causes and consequences of teenage pregnancy. Process drama requires participants to create and assume roles, identify and explore images and stories drawn from fictional worlds that relate to the participants’ own personal experiences. Through process drama workshops, teenagers were able to engage with challenging situations as a way of acquiring new knowledge about teenage pregnancy. Three major themes emerged as contributing factors to teenage pregnancy, namely, parental negligence and abuse, negative peer pressure and poverty. The learner’s engagement within the dramatic process was enhanced by means of dialogue, negotiation and reflection with the teacher adopting the role of facilitator and co-participant. The fictional world created by the drama enabled the learners to relate and identify with problematic aspects of teenage pregnancy. The study concludes that process drama offers an aesthetic space for teenagers to develop a deeper understanding of themselves in relation to their lived experiences. The study recommends process drama as a powerful interactive medium that needs to be implemented in schools to grapple with intractable issues such as teenage pregnancy.

Thesis (M.A) -- University of Limpopo, 2008 / Refer to document

This piece of research explores the problem of schoolgirl pregnancies and suggests a role which the school might play in their prevention. Concern over the growing number of unplanned pregnancies under the age of eighteen years at the author's school, culminated in the .present study. Experts on the subject often perceive the problem to be self-defeating to the young girls, medically contra-indicated and socially disruptive. The purpose of this investigation was to determine attitudes towards the description of the problem, to identify causative factors predisposing to pregnancy, and to obtain views on how the school can reconcile efforts to address the problem. The relevant research data was obtained through a comprehensive 64 item attitudinal and knowledge-base questionnaire which was administered to a sample of 187 subjects. The sample comprised seven different occupational groups namely, senior schoolgirls, parents of senior schoolgirls, ex-schoolgirl primigravidae, parents of ex-schoolgirl primigravidae, school teachers, members of the clergy and various health care professionals. The appendices contain full statistical tables as well as full responses to the open-ended essay based on the research questionnaire so that the reader is free to check the reasonableness of the conclusions drawn. In the final chapter the author provides a brief summary of findings, offers justification why the teaching of sex education should be a priority in public schools, and makes recommendations, in the main, for the inclusion of school-based sex education as a component of Guidance in terms of rationale and implementation. In addition, suggestions are made with regard to school policy formulation and networking with parents and other community resources. Finally, a choice of four current model programmes for sex education are proposed in an effort to improve and build upon existing programmes in the present South African curriculum. It is the author's belief that this investigation may contribute to course design and perhaps provide hypotheses for more specific studies in the future.

This study investigates the causes, consequences and possible solutions of teenage pregnancy. It indicates that socio-economic factors play an important role in the occurrence of teenage pregnancies. In addition the study suggests that a range of factors, including, cultural norms and individual needs, impact on the childbearing decisions of teenage females. The study demonstrates that the most important negative consequences of teenage pregnancy include dropping out of school, unemployment, single parenthood and higher levels of poverty. An important finding of the study is that policies and programmes aimed at reducing teen pregnancy rates, and eliminating the negative consequences experienced by teen mothers and their children, are unlikely to be fully effective unless they realistically address socio-economic imbalances faced by many young women in South Africa.

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

Thesis (MPH.) --University of Limpopo, 2015 / Background: There are a high number of teenagers seeking Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) at Maggys Hope Clinic in Polokwane Municipality in Capricorn District in Limpopo Province after the Termination of Pregnancy Act was passed in 1997. The numbers have doubled since the inception of the Children's Act no 38 of 2005 and the Sexual Offences Bill in 2008. The report by Stats SA and Department of education also indicated that the numbers have also doubled. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the factors contributing to termination of pregnancies amongst teenagers at Maggys Hope Clinic in Polokwane Municipality, Limpopo Province. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative research design was used to identify and describe the factors contributing to termination of pregnancies among teenagers in Maggys Hope Clinic in Capricorn district Limpopo Province South Africa, in April 2014. Results: The results of the study revealed that CTOP legislation is one of the reasons why teenagers terminate. All the twenty participants indicated age and marital status as the motivation as the contributing factor. Looking at the age and educational level the most pushing factor is that thirteen of the participants are still at school. Eleven of the participants have no knowledge of contraceptives. This is a serious concern. Participants indicated that they had very little knowledge on reproductive health issues. The rest of the pushing factors are parental pressure, contraceptive failure, fear of parental disappointment and unpreparedness to raise a child as well. Conclusion: It can thus be concluded that teenage termination of pregnancies is a major health concern in South Africa, Africa and globally. Teenagers’ health is in danger due to engaging in unprotected sex banking on TOP as a solution. The study found that age and fear from dropping out of school, lack parental involvement in sexual matters, family economic status and marital status, including lack of knowledge and information on reproductive health issues, were the main factors contributing to termination of pregnancies among teenagers in Maggys Hope Clinic in Capricorn District, Limpopo Province.

The study aimed to explore indigenous methods used to prevent teenage pregnancy from the perspective of traditional healers and traditional leaders. Furthermore, it aimed to explore with traditional healers and traditional leaders whether these methods have relevance today as form part of teenage pregnancy intervention. The data were collected through conducting semistructured interviews with ten traditional healers and five traditional leaders from the rural area of Umhlathuzane, Eshowe. The interviews were guided by an interview schedule which allowed the researcher to keep in touch with the purpose of the study while having face to face conversation with participants. All interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. The findings of the study revealed that traditional healers and traditional leaders are concerned by high rate of teenage pregnancy within the community. They felt strongly that ignoring indigenous cultural practices due to modernity has led to major non-resolvable social issues such as teenage pregnancy, spread of HIV/AIDS related diseases, poverty, drugs and alcohol misuse. The study findings also revealed that there is a high demand for re-instituting elders' and family roles in addressing the erosion of cultural practices and traditional methods. Traditional practices such as virginity testing, ukusoma (non-penetrative thigh sex), ukushikila (physical maturity examination) as well as traditional ceremonies were identified as indigenous methods previously used to groom girls and to prevent teenage pregnancy. Furthermore, traditional healers and traditional leader were totally against contemporary teenage pregnancy interventions and policies around this issue, and have mixed views towards the idea of combining modern and traditional methods for teenage pregnancy prevention. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made regard to collaboration between South African government and indigenous experts so that to deal effectively with teenage pregnancy. Recommendations for further research were also made. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

High adolescent childbearing in South Africa has been sustained over several decades (Kaufman, De Wet and Stadler, 2001:149). Findings from the South African Demographic Health Survey (1998) show that 35 percent of 19-year-old girls had given birth at least once (DoH, 1999). Early childbearing can affect the economic, social and physical well-being of the mother and child. In addition young women who are sexually active are also at high risk of HIV infection and other STIs (Rutenberg, Kaufman, McIntyre, Brown and Karim, 2003). Apart from the health risks, there are also social consequences of early childbearing. Studies that have examined the factors influencing early childbearing show that there is a variation in the prevalence of early childbearing that is by place of residence (rural vs. urban), educational attainment, socio-economic status and population group (Palmuleni, Kalule-Sabiti.and Makiwane, 2007; Dickson, 2003). However, there have been few studies that explore the influence of family structure on early childbearing and sexual intercourse. In an attempt to tease out family influences on teenage sexual behaviour, recent literature explores the correlation of timing of sexual activity and childbearing among sibling pairs. Findings confirm that a sister’s sexual initiation and timing of childbearing and other forms of family formation have an independent strong effect on the timing of family formation for a younger sibling (East, 1996). Exploring a sister’s influence in the context of high early childbearing, such as one observed in South Africa, could contribute in understanding escalating teenage pregnancies and childbearing. The 1998 South African Demographic Health Survey will be used to analyse the sexual behaviour patterns of young women between 15 and 24 years of age, focusing specifically on their age at sexual debut, and age and the covariates associated with teenage pregnancy. These results show that having an older sister who has given birth to a child during adolescence could influence the age at which a younger sister has a child and her age at sexual debut. From the results sisters could be a strategic population to target for pregnancy prevention, which would help reduce early childbearing and also the spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.