The project of which this study is a part has as its broad aim the exploration of psychosocial factors associated with pregnancy among adolescent females. Over the last 30 years, the idea of moral development as a strong and pervasive influence on an individual's behavior has become an integral part of thinking about childhood and adolescence,…

Literature concerning problems that result from teenage pregnancy is synthesized and reviewed. The first section briefly compares rates of pregnancy among adolescents in the United States against those of other countries. This comparison is discussed in greater detail in the second section, which focuses on pregnancy rates in Connecticut and the…

The paper describes the Lafayette Parish Homebound Program (Louisiana) for students in grades K-12, with particular emphasis on the program's services for pregnant girls. Procedures for admitting students into the program, objectives for the pregnant girls (12-18 years old), and program components are considered. It is explained that the special…

This study investigated pregnant teenagers' knowledge about infant development during the period of their pregnancy. The sample consisted of 98 teenagers between 14 and 19 years old who were pregnant with their first child; all were planning to keep their babies. The group was approximately 50% black and 50% white, 50% middle class and 50% working…

In 1968 the California Education Code section on physically handicapped minors was amended to include pregnant girls. This change was intended to give school districts the responsibility and the funds to develop special classes or schools for teenage pregmant girls. This special class makes it possible to provide more educational materials,…

Those interested in critical, feminist, and anti-racist pedagogy are on a search for means to counter dominant ways of speaking about stigmatized groups. Some see promise in popular theater, which starts from the experience of those on the margins. This ethnographic study followed 12 teen mothers, a highly stereotyped group, as they wrote and…

Using the schools to achieve racial balance, eliminate poverty, fight drug abuse, prevent pregnancy, and reduce youth suicide is simply too much to ask. Teachers and principals should be required to address educational issues, not unmet social needs. Moreover, those who demand the schools' improvement would be well-advised to pay significant…

The document describes research on womens' attitudes toward abortion and their decision-making when pregnant leading to either birth or abortion. The objective was "to explore how womens' perceptions of the option of legal abortion have affected their pregnancy decision-making behavior" and to note the impact of their particular choices on their…

Later marriage ages, longer life expectancy, higher divorce rates, and the feminization of poverty will all figure in the economic future of modern girls. Values about work, marriage, and motherhood are in flux during adolescence, and the messages they receive are often contradictory. Steps must be taken to educate girls to make clearheaded and…

This study explored the differences between African American and Latina female adolescents who desire to become pregnant and those who do not. Five hundred and thirty-one sexually experienced, never pregnant adolescents completed surveys containing questions about demographics, sexual behavior and contraceptive use, sexual and contraceptive…

Recent literature on the topic of pregnancy resolution among unmarried adolescent women investigates differences between women choosing abortions and those not so choosing, and is organized into studies dealing with social correlates of pregnancy resolution and research centering on psychological variables. The social correlate studies address…

In 1984 the Pennsylvania Department of Education notified school districts that they could not deny pregnant or parenting students an education; could not put them on homebound instruction in the absence of medical conditions; and could not place them involuntarily in segregated alternative programs. The state supplied additional funds to start…

The problem of teenage pregnancy can be viewed as endemic, a part of American culture not easy to change. Although the number of girls under 15 who are becoming pregnant is not very large (13,000 in 1978), the cost of pregnancy to the girls themselves, their families, and society is very great. Results of data analyses from action research,…

This study investigated the child rearing strategies endorsed by pregnant adolescent girls. The sample consisted of 124 pregnant adolescent girls from two alternative high schools for pregnant or parenting teenage girls in the Detroit (Michigan) Metropolitan Area. Child rearing strategies were assessed using the Rickel Modified Form of the Block…

Teenage women with unplanned pregnancies constitute one of America's greatest challenges in terms of providing good services and sound counseling on options. Only about 7% of teenagers having babies make alternate childrearing plans either through formal adoption or informally with members of their families. The emphasis on making teenagers good…