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
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/24538 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Mkhwanazi, Sibusiso |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (xi, 308 pages), application/pdf, application/pdf |
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