Romanticism and self-esteem among pregnant adolescents, adolescent mothers, and nonpregnant, nonparenting teens

Australian adolescents' attitudes and beliefs concerning pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood: the development, psychometric testing and results of a new scale

Recent research suggests that many adolescents hold unrealistic and idealised beliefs about the likely consequences of pregnancy and parenthood. Such attitudes potentially play an important role in the aetiology of adolescent pregnancy. Disillusionment with reality may also contribute to postnatal depression, domestic violence and child abuse. This paper reports on the development of a scale to measure the prevalence of such beliefs. The scale was administered to a sample of 1546 Australian adolescents. Between one-quarter and one-third of the sample exhibited idealised beliefs, with males having higher levels of idealization. On factor analysis, the idealization construct comprised an overestimation of positive aspects and an underestimation of negative ones. Subjects reported that very few of their beliefs derived from formal educational input.

Responses of seventh grade students to "do you have a partner with whom you would like to have a baby?"

This study investigated differences in demographic data, self-esteem, and coping skills for 225 students in Grade 7 who reported having a partner with whom they wanted to have a baby and 946 students who did not. Data were collected on the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, the Family Crisis-oriented Personal Evaluation Scale, and questions related to attitudes towards teen pregnancy and demographic data. The sample included 548 (46.8%) boys and 624 (53.2%) girls whose mean age was 13.2 yr. Students with a partner had significantly lower scores on the curriculum questions, self-esteem, and family coping skills, combined with higher scores in passivity. They indicated a desire to have a greater number of children, beginning by having their first child at a younger age and believed that having a baby improves a couple's relationship. Possible approaches may include effective teaching methods to overcome passivity through boosting self-confidence, goal-setting, and acquiring a purpose in life besides parenting a child.

Hopefulness, self-esteem, and perceived social support among pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents

The concepts of hope, self-esteem, and social support have been identified as important factors in understanding a wide range of adolescent behaviors. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship of perceived hopefulness, self-esteem, and social support with pregnancy status. Employing a cross-sectional design, a sample of pregnant (n = 58) and nonpregnant (n = 91) adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 completed the Hopefulness Scale for Adolescents (HSA), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ). Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the association of pregnancy status with hopefulness, self-esteem, and social support while controlling for age and socioeconomic status (SES). The effects of pregnancy status on each psychosocial variable were examined independently. Findings revealed pregnancy status was not associated with hopefulness, self-esteem, or perceived social support when age and SES were controlled.