Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 132-139) Also available in print.

Adolescence traditionally has been recognized and accepted as a period of exploration of an occasional rebellion against the adult world. Explorations are viewed by behavioral scientists as a quest for identity expansion, and as such, a necessary phase for attaining maturity. Several tasks have been identified which each adolescent must complete if he is to reach maturity. For the present these tasks can be summarized as character formation, attainment of sexual identity, establishment of mature relationships and emancipation from parental control. Society's attitude towards the rebellion and exploitation of youth is mixed. This confusion seems related to a general breakdown in custom, dispensation of child-adolescent labor, and restriction on sexual activity. Perhaps the confusion is particularly noted in relation to the adolescent unwed mother who may be viewed as having violated moral standards. While America has been from its inception relatively free of entrenched social groups, traditions and values, there were customs and values which served to regulate behavior: curfew, chaperones, maiden aunts in the parlor and mothers in the kitchen.

This study was conducted at the University of Oregon Medical School located in Portland, Oregon. This school has performed many abortions since Oregon liberalized its abortion law in 1969. In Oregon in 1968 before the abortion law was changed there were 238 abortions performed, 35% of these were for women under the age of 19. During 1971 there were 6,997 abortions of these 2,625 were for girls of age 19 and younger.

The present study evaluated the applicability of the theory of planned behavior (TRP, Ajzen, 1988: Ajzen and Fishbein) to the prediction and understanding of a young woman's intentions to raise or place her child for adoption. During a woman's second and third trimester of pregnancy self-report measures were administered assessing a woman's intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control about both pregnancy resolution choices (i.e., raising or placing a child for adoption). Participants were 52 Caucasian women (26 who placed; 26 who raised) ranging in age from 15-32 (M =19). In most respects the findings supported the TPB. However, subjective norms did not significantly enter the regression model in predicting behavioral intentions due to the multicollinearity between it and attitudes. Consequently, subjective norms was replaced by its salient measure of normative beliefs in another regression model. This hierarchical regression analyses revealed that attitudes, normative beliefs, perceived behavioral control and age significantly predicted a woman's intention to raise or place her child. A logistic regression revealed that behavioral intention was the single best predictor for the final pregnancy resolution behavior, suggesting that it successfully mediated the influences of all other variables studied. Further analysis revealed that women who placed versus those who raised their children differed on a number of behavioral beliefs, outcome evaluations, normative beliefs, and control beliefs. / Master of Science

It is not an uncommon feature anymore to find young mothers in Venda secondary schools busy with their studies. These young mothers, referred to as schoolgirl mothers in this investigation, do however, battle in general with their studies and experience problems different from those of ordinary schoolgirls. It was, therefore, decided to launch an investigation into the problems related to the learning situation of such schoolgirl mothers. The formation of relationships by the adolescent has been used as a point of departure for this study. Contrary to expectations, the empirical investigation has revealed that schoolgirl mothers maintain basically good relationships with themselves, their studies and others. On the other hand, their academic achievements are significantly lower than those of ordinary schoolgirls. Further research is necessary to shed more light on the situatedness of schoolgirl mothers in general and in Venda secondary schools in particular. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

It is not an uncommon feature anymore to find young mothers in Venda secondary schools busy with their studies. These young mothers, referred to as schoolgirl mothers in this investigation, do however, battle in general with their studies and experience problems different from those of ordinary schoolgirls. It was, therefore, decided to launch an investigation into the problems related to the learning situation of such schoolgirl mothers. The formation of relationships by the adolescent has been used as a point of departure for this study. Contrary to expectations, the empirical investigation has revealed that schoolgirl mothers maintain basically good relationships with themselves, their studies and others. On the other hand, their academic achievements are significantly lower than those of ordinary schoolgirls. Further research is necessary to shed more light on the situatedness of schoolgirl mothers in general and in Venda secondary schools in particular. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The proportion of children born outside of marriage in Chile increased from 15.9 percent in 1960 to 64.6 percent in 2008. Similar increases have been taken elsewhere as indicative of a Second Demographic Transition (SDT). In this dissertation, I study differences between married and unmarried mothers in Chile and the reasons why such a large proportion of children are born outside of marriage, with the goal of understanding whether the demographic changes we are observing in the country are part of a global movement towards the SDT. The data comes from a postpartum survey implemented in Santiago, the capital city. I analyze differences between women according to the family arrangement they live in, including married women in nuclear households, married women in extended households, cohabiters in nuclear households, cohabiters in extended households, visiting mothers, and single mothers. I consider women’s socioeconomic wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, social support, attitudes and values, and reproductive health. The results show large demographic and socioeconomic differences, marking the socioeconomic advantage of married women in nuclear households, who are the oldest, and the disadvantage of cohabiters in extended households, visiting and single mothers, who are the youngest women in the sample. Married women in extended households and cohabiters in nuclear households are between these two poles. Differences in emotional wellbeing exist, benefiting married women in nuclear households, but they are not so large. Differences in social support continue delineating married women in nuclear households as a privileged group, but visiting mothers appear as a highly supported group too. There are not large differences in attitudes and values, as most women continue holding conservative attitudes on family issues, and most unmarried mothers plan to marry. Differences in reproductive health are large, showing that unplanned births and contraceptive failure are high in the underprivileged and youngest groups. Unmarried women seem to accept their pregnancies with no pressure to marry, and to give priority to other goals, such as their careers and homeownership, before the wedding, which they do not discard for the future. Under these circumstances, it is hard to interpret recent demographic changes in Chile as a SDT. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 1987. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 266-300).

The general purpose of this study is to turn to the possibilities of a second focus of research into the adoption process, that is, to what can be learned about the natural mother. The particular purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to identify the socio-economic characteristics of those women contacting a public adoption agency for the placement of their children with prospective adoptive families; (2) to identify and examine the sociological factors which appear to influence the natural mother to wither keep or surrender her child; and (3) to determine if the women contacting the agency in 1969 represent the same socio-economic characteristics as those women who contacted the agency in 1959.

In this essay I have studied seventy-five unmarried mother’s lives in northeast Sunnerbo district and southeast Västbo district in Småland 1940-1949. The aim was to study to which extend the unmarried mothers later become married women. The purpose was also to investigate to which extend the unmarried mothers gave birth to more illegitimate children. The eights parishes minutes of the Child Welfare Board has been one of the study’s main material. One of the main questions in this study were to examine if the unmarried women were mentioned in the minutes and if so, to see what were written about them. The eight parishes birth- and baptismbooks and the Swedish deathbook also constituted as the study’s material. The study shows that only seven of the seventy-five mothers didn’t get married. The mother’s expectancy was 77,4 years and five of the mothers gave birth to two illegitimate children between 1940-1949. I have found that twenty-five women are mentioned in the minutes of the Child Welfare Board. In most cases the unmarried mother has applied for maternityhelp and have been given an amount of money for maintenance of the illegitimate child. In some cases, women has received money to pay care fees such as fees for dentalcare or for orphanages.