Examines adolescents' knowledge of the detrimental effects of smoking on pregnant women and fetuses and its relationship to efforts to quit smoking with a sample of pregnant adolescents (N=71). A three-group randomized intervention design -- Teen FreshStart, Teen Freshstart with buddy, and usual care control -- was used. Results show that…

Pregnant adolescent students were less likely than nulligravid students to employ or plan to use contraceptives. They more often expressed a desire for a pregnancy and described their boyfriends as happy about the pregnancy. Nulligravid youngsters described their parents as more disapproving of their premarital sexual activity. (Author/RH)

Questions claims that teenage pregnancies are generally unwanted, based on a study of 123 school-age mothers. Found that love was associated with becoming pregnant more than with starting sexual activity. Most respondents who were in love at the onset of pregnancy were hoping to marry their sex partners. (JAC)

Investigates how pregnant adolescents think and feel about themselves, in what respects their self perceptions differ from non-pregnant teenagers, and how the two groups differ demographically. (Author/RK)

Compared the mother-daughter relationships of 20 pregnant and 40 nonpregnant adolescents. Results indicated the pregnant group perceived less affection, disclosure, and fewer demands and more rejection and casual rule-setting in the relationship. Results emphasize the importance of scholastic achievement and strong parent-child relationships as…

Examines family-of-origin stress, age of first menarche, and the perceptions of pregnancy as a life event in 97 pregnant adolescents. Participants' reported high levels of family stress with only a moderate level of impact or stress attributed to the pregnancy. As a group, the girls' first menarche matched national averages. (RJM)

Addresses the need for comprehensive health care services directed toward adolescents, outlining a multidisciplinary team program designed to provide such services. Discusses the national problem of teenage pregnancy and the multidisciplinary team's success with family planning counseling. Strongly encourages the development of more school- or…

Focuses on the relationship before and after pregnancy between a group of young mothers and the fathers of their children. Considers the problem of legitimizing the child and the provision of a so-called "normal" home with both parents versus the adequate preparation of the young mother for future life through completion of her…

Compared the sociocultural characteristics of pregnant adolescents (N=129) of low socioeconomic status with a nonpregnant adolescent group (N=100) from the same area of Santiago, Chile. Found several differences between the groups including less schooling, lower level of aspirations, and a tendency to live in "the present" among the…

Compared pregnant adolescents who attended a parent education program (N=9), those who did not attend such programs (N=14), and nonpregnant adolescents (N=29) for differences in self-concept, anxiety, and depression which might account for postdelivery outcomes. Results suggest that the groups did not differ in terms of these personality…

Examined the influence of family relationships and support, religion, and education on the Puerto Rican pregnant teenager's decision to carry or to abort. Found girls who carried were more significantly influenced and supported by family and friends, especially by mothers, than were those in abort group. Abort group girls reported greater…

Assessed the effects of teenage parenting programs upon the knowledge and attitudes of pregnant teenagers (N=31). The programs studied produced a significant change in the teenagers' knowledge of sexuality and child development while having no apparent effect on the teenagers' parenting attitudes. (Author/JAC)

This paper reports a retrospective study undertaken to determine if differences existed in obstetric outcome, contraceptive usage, and repeat pregnancy rates of teenage patients cared for in three different health care settings: the Rochester Adolescent Maternity Project (RAMP), a traditional obstetric clinic, and a neighborhood health center.…

Assessed family environments of 84 pregnant adolescents who recently made decision to parent or to place their babies for adoption. Results showed that adolescent parents or placers described their families as less functional than adolescent norms. Found no significant differences in family functioning between parents and placers. Vast majority of…

Compares self-concept scores of 199 pregnant African American adolescents from urban and rural areas. Results showed that self-concept scores of both groups were not as high as scores of a nonpregnant norm group of adolescents. Pregnant adolescents' scores were similar regardless of age or geographic location. (RJM)