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Understanding Teen Pregnancy from the Perspective of Young Adolescents in Oklahoma CityDepartment of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
University of Oregon
Department of Health Promotion Sciences, College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy As part of a needs and assets assessment for teen pregnancy prevention, university researchers and practitioners from community-based organizations collaborated to conduct focus groups with 102 young teens of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. Understanding ethnic and gender similarities and differences in teen views of adolescent preg-ancy helped neighborhood-based planning groups tailor their interventions to specific populations. There were many more similarities in themes than differences across both gender and racial/ethnic groups. Common themes included wanting a baby because of loneliness or a desire to be loved, wanting a baby to maintain a relationship, and viewing teen pregnancy as an unintended consequence of having sex. Differences tended to be gender based, with males viewing teen pregnancy as less of a problem than females. Implications for teen pregnancy prevention are discussed, with examples of how the information was used in a teen pregnancy prevention project in Oklahoma City.
Health Promotion Practice, Vol. 2, No. 3,
242-254 (2001) |
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