Socio-Economic Effects of Teenage Pregnancy on Women in Kambuzuma Harare, Zimbabwe

Bachelor Thesis , 2014 , 69 Pages

Sociology - Children and Youth

The purpose of the study was to explore the socio-economic effects of teenage pregnancy among women within Kambuzuma. “Teenage pregnancy” refers to intentional or unintentional pregnancy of adolescent girls aged 13 to 19. The researcher used a structured questionnaire as a technique tool to find out the short term and long-term effects of teenage pregnancy. Methodology employed followed quantitative and qualitative design; and snowballing sampling method was used to target participants who got pregnant during their teenage years. Ethical consideration included obtaining informed consent and observing confidentiality during the research. Bourdieu’s theoretical framework of Field and Habitus, was used as the guiding the framework to explore the determinants of teenage pregnancy as well as the short term and long term socio-economic, and psychological, outcomes. Statistical analyses relied on the concepts of correlation, covariance, and cumulative frequencies which are in-built in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets as well as any decent statistical software package. Using Bourdieu’s theoretical framework of Field and Habitus allows tailoring of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to the question at hand. Statistical results confirm postulations in literature that teenage pregnancy is associated with social and economic costs, in the short and long term, including reduced employment opportunity, income outcomes, social status, peer bonding, partner bonding, family support, truncated educational achievement, family rejection, and psychological pressures. The results suggest that adverse long term effects are more pronounced than the short-term outcomes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

LIST OF ACRONYMS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER 1
1 RESEARCH OVERVIEW
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background to the Study
1.3 Statement of the Problem
1.4 Research Objectives
1.5 Research Questions
1.6 Justification of the Study
1.7 Delimitations
1.8 Limitations of the Study
1.9 Study Assumptions
1.10 Theoretical Framework
1.10.1 Cultural Capital
1.10.2 Social Capital
1.10.3 Economic Capital
1.11 Summary

CHAPTER 2
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Social Capital and Teenage Pregnancy
2.3 Early Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy
2.4 Poverty and Teenage pregnancy
2.5 Educational Outcomes and Teenage Pregnancy
2.6 Teenage Pregnancy and Employment Outcomes
2.7 Teenage Pregnancy, Healthy and Psychological Outcomes
2.8 Summary

CHAPTER 3
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research Design
3.3 Population of the Study
3.4 Sample and Sampling Procedures
3.5 Research Instruments
3.6 Data Analysis
3.7 Ethical Considerations
3.8 Summary

CHAPTER 4
4 PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Preliminary Descriptive Findings
4.3 Determinants of Teenage Pregnancy
4.4 Evaluating the Effects of Teenage Pregnancy
4.5 Short-Term Effects of Teenage Pregnancy
4.6 Analysis of Short-Term Effects of Teenage Pregnancy
4.7 Long-Term Effects of Teenage Pregnancy
4.8 Analysis of Long-Term Effects of Teenage Pregnancy
4.9 Discussion of Research Findings

CHAPTER 5
5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary
5.3 Conclusions
5.4 Recommendations
5.5 Chapter Summary

6 REFERENCES

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Determinants and Effects of Teenage Pregnancy Questionnaire

DEDICATION

I dedicate this project to my ever-loving husband Gift Chirozva for his unfailing love, time and support; my lovely daughter Vanessa and my very energetic boys Prince and Anthony; my mother Judith Jinga and late father Phibion Jinga for words of wisdom and encouragement. Above all to God is the glory, for HE makes all things possible.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The work described in this research project may never have come to fruition without the guidance and support of a number of people, friends and colleagues.

I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many anonymous respondents for kindly sharing their life stories and time, to make this research possible.

I would also like to thank my family and friends for sacrificing their time, companionship, motherly care, and comfort in order to make this research project a success.

I acknowledge also my supervisor Mr D. Siampondo for his continued patience and guidance during my research.

WUA has uplifted and empowered many a girl child’s academic dreams.

Thanks be to God Almighty for guiding me during my studies and research project.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to explore the socio-economic effects of teenage pregnancy among women within Kambuzuma. “Teenage pregnancy” refers to intentional or unintentional pregnancy of adolescent girls aged 13 to 19. The researcher used a structured questionnaire as a technique tool to find out the short term and long-term effects of teenage pregnancy. Methodology employed followed quantitative and qualitative design; and snowballing sampling method was used to target participants who got pregnant during their teenage years. Ethical consideration included obtaining informed consent and observing confidentiality during the research. Bourdieu ’s theoretical framework of Field and Habitus, was used as the guiding the framework to explore the determinants of teenage pregnancy as well as the short term and long term socio-economic, and psychological, outcomes. Statistical analyses relied on the concepts of correlation, covariance, and cumulative frequencies which are in-built in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets as well as any decent statistical software package. Using Bourdieu ’s theoretical framework of Field and Habitus allows tailoring of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to the question at hand. Statistical results confirm postulations in literature that teenage pregnancy is associated with social and economic costs, in the short and long term, including reduced employment opportunity, income outcomes, social status, peer bonding, partner bonding, family support, truncated educational achievement, family rejection, and psychological pressures. The results suggest that adverse long term effects are more pronounced than the short-term outcomes.

LIST OF ACRONYMS

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Age of First Pregnancy

Table 2: Teenage Pregnancy Association with Socio-economic Factors

Table 3: Outcome of First Pregnancy

Table 4: Short Term Associations

Table 5: Perceived Short Term Effects of Teenage Pregnancy

Table 6: Long Term Associations

Table 7: Perceived Long-Term Effects of Teenage Pregnancy

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Age of Respondents

Figure 2: Menarche First Pregnancy Relationship

Figure 3: Marital Status of Respondents

Figure 4: Engagement in Paid Sex

Figure 5: Education Profile of the Respondents

Figure 6: Education Profile of Respondents' Parents

Figure 7: Current Occupation of Respondents

Figure 8: First Sexual Intercourse Experience

Figure 9: Influence of Elder Sister Teenage Pregnancy on Siblings

Figure 10: Receipt of Education on Teen Pregnancy

CHAPTER 1

1 RESEARCH OVERVIEW

1.1 Introduction

Teenage pregnancy is an issue that is rampant in the society today. Teenage pregnancy, also referred to as adolescence pregnancy or teen fertility, is the premature pregnancy of female child (ren) that is (are) yet to attain the maturity and ripe age for marriage. About 14 million births are from teenage girls aged between 15-19 years around the world.

Policymakers, intellectuals and social commentators have identified several important factors are influencing the menace in the society. Among the important factors that have strongly influenced the teenage pregnancy rate in recent decades is the declining age at menarche due to improved health and nutrition.

Another factor is lack of proper moral upbringing of female children by their parents. Parents occupy significant position in laying a solid foundation for their children through socialisation. Failure to discharge their responsibilities in this regard, especially training their children the dangers inherent in premature sex, such children will not know of the dangers of indulging in premature sex.

There is evidence that the first sexual activity is commenced at a much younger age. A youth risk behaviour study (YRBS) contacted a study in the United States suggested that almost one-half of the high school students have had sexual intercourse in their lifetime while 7% initiated sexual intercourse before the age of 13 years.

Poverty of parents / guardians and the prevalence of single parent homes were either the father or mother bring up their children in broken homes also accounts for teenage pregnancy. Most of the teenage pregnant girls in the society today come from poor homes who cannot afford the basic needs of life like food and shelter. Wealthy males or Sugar Daddies in the society thus easily lure such children into premature sexual intercourse. They shower them with financial and material goods in return for sex.

Sexual abuse also contributes to factors that causes teenage pregnancy. Rape as a sexual abuse cause unwanted pregnancies and unwanted sex. Many of the unwanted teenage pregnancies are a result of rape. Some of the teenagers who give birth in their teens were molested as young girls.

Another factor is the low use of contraception. Inadequate protection against pregnancy and contraception use among teenagers is still very low due to less education awareness about contraception, less access to contraceptives and emergency contraception. Although in the sub-Saharan Africa, studies show fertility decline in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, teenage pregnancy remains a significant social, economic and health care problem.

Teenage pregnancy has several consequences. Population growth rate is being increased in the society by teenage pregnancy. Many babies are being born through it, which cannot be catered for by the available resources. The issue of teenage pregnancy encourages dropping out from schools. Many pregnant female children end up dropping out from school to avoid shame. This undermines government's efforts towards ensuring Education for All and the Millennium Development goal of Education in the nearest future.

It has become common for the danger of teenage pregnancy to be eradicated or controlled in the society in view of its negative consequences. However, several measures can be adopted to achieve this goal. Parents need to be more alive to their responsibilities at the home setting. They should work hard to educate their children on the dangers that are intrinsic in premature sexual intercourse and the need to always relate with only the good pupils / students.

There is need for teachers to be morally upright in the school system. They should abstain from illicit relationship with their female pupils / students. Institution's administrators should however strive to maintain discipline in their domains and discipline erring teachers and female students to serve as deterrents to others.

Government should further strive to educate the masses on the dangers involved in premarital sex and the issue of early marriage, particularly in those parts of the countries that are indispose to female education. Pupils / students in educational institutions should refrain from the influence of bad friends on them and should only associate with good students.

This research considers the socio-economic effects of teenage pregnancy in order to inform mitigation strategies and suggest areas of further future research.

1.2 Background to the Study

Teenage pregnancy is defined as the premature pregnancy of under-aged girls usually within the ages of 13 to 19. The term is formally defined as a pregnancy in a young woman who has not yet reached her 20th birthday when the pregnancy ends, regardless of whether the woman is married or is legally of an adult age. The extent of teenage pregnancy varies from region to region. At least 50% of girls in Sub Saharan Africa become pregnant before they reach the age of 20. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of teenage fertility is more rampant in periurban areas compared to rural areas and affluent suburbs.

In the literature teenage pregnancy has been associated with social and economic costs, in the short and long term, including infanticide, violence, suicide, chronic or acute health conditions, truncated educational achievement and reduced employment opportunity, social reproduction of poverty, as well as direct financial burdens to health care and to other social services.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Teenage pregnancy is a societal problem, a family problem and a personal problem all rolled into one. It is often associated with negative socioeconomic and psychological outcomes on the adolescent mothers, fathers, resultant children and the general economic welfare of any nation. Teenage pregnancy is a world-wide problem affecting both the developed and developing nations. Although in a limited number of cases of teenage pregnancy may be considered as a positive experience, studies show that it is associated with psychological, physical and economic problems. An estimated to 16 million children are born to adolescent mothers aged 15 to 19 each year, representing 11% of total births worldwide. The resultant generational virtuous cycles of teenage pregnancy, requires further research to understand and mitigate in view of the negative outcomes.

1.4 Research Objectives

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the age at which girls get pregnant, causes of teenage pregnancy and socio-economic and psychological effects of teenage pregnancy in Kambuzuma. Specifically, this study was guided by the following objectives:

1. To explore factors contributing to teenage pregnancy
2. To investigate the long term effects of teenage pregnancy on social, economic and psychological status of women in Kambuzuma
3. To evaluate mechanisms in place for curbing teenage pregnancy.

1.5 Research Questions

The specific research questions considered in this study are outlined hereunder.

Question 1: What role, if any, do social, economic and psychological factors play in teenage pregnancy?

Question 2: Does teenage pregnancy have long term effects on the social status of women?

Question 3: Does teenage pregnancy have long term effects on the economic status of women?

Question 4: What are the resultant psychological effects of teenage pregnancy among women?

Question 5: Does teenage pregnancy have long term effects on the health of women?

Question 6: How effective are the teenage pregnancy prevention programs and drop-in foster homes?

1.6 Justification of the Study

This study is significant because morbidity, health and social problems from teenage pregnancy lead to short term and long medical, psychological and socio-economic implications affecting the individuals involved their families, and society at large. In Zimbabwe, little or no scientific studies have been conducted on teenage pregnancy. Therefore, a study on the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy is highly relevant to all stakeholders.

The informative content of the study will help teenagers to understand the negative effects of teenage pregnancy and how it could change their whole life. For teenage mothers the study will help them overcome the risks of teenage pregnancy by understanding the depth of their self-efficacy. Enhancement of society’s knowledge on the extend, causes and effects of teenage pregnancy could lessen the percentage of single parenthood among the community; and orient family members of how teenage pregnancy can affect the family. Community could also build a strong alliance against teenage pregnancy. Parents of teenage mothers will be better informed of the risks and challenges their daughters may be encountering thus rendering the better equipped to provide positive intervention. In addition the research might assist parents to expect a better future and a progressive and more valuable support for their sons and daughters. The study may also inform project planning and data analysis among Non-Government Organisations. The study may also be of benefit to future researchers in respect of enhancement of their knowledge on teenage pregnancy, extend thereof, and variables used in the study. In addition, a study of the causes and effects of teenage pregnancies in Kambuzuma, will help inform intervention measures to reduce the negative outcomes, and risk behaviours.

1.7 Delimitations

This research was carried in Kambuzuma, Harare. It was set as a boundary to control the study. This was done to reduce the time spent moving from one location to another.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

The envisaged limitations of the study relate to the sensitive nature of the research topic. As such some of the target participants might not be comfortable in answering some questions honestly or might provide socially desirable answers. This limitation might affect the validity and reliability of the data gathered.

The research proposes to use self-administered questionnaires, which might limit possibility of getting in-depth information available if respondents are allowed to express themselves freely. In addition the questionnaire will be administered and conducted in English, which is the second language for most of the participants in Kambuzuma. Therefore, some might have found it difficult to express themselves clearly.

Conferment of the research to Kambuzuma might reduce the sample size, and introduce some degree of subjectivity arising from possible homogeneity of the respondents, which would restrict the generalization of the findings beyond participants of the study.

Lastly there are budgetary implications as well as time constraints within which the research would need to be concluded and finalised.

1.9 Study Assumptions

Teenage pregnancy is associated with It does not necessarily follow that disadvantaged adolescents well-being would be greatly improved if they had waited to have a child.

Postponement of teenage pregnancy does not substantially improve teen mothers’ well-being unless the experiences associated with teenage pregnancy are addressed.

1.10 Theoretical Framework

The theoretical frameworks in this study are influenced by Habitus and Field by Pierre Bourdieu (1977, 1984). By way of introduction, there is no one theoretical framework that can best explain the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy. Classical sociological theory has grappled with the dichotomy between subjectivist and objectivist approaches. A subjectivist approach “focuses on beliefs, desires and judgments of agents, and views the agent’s actions as residing, first and foremost, in individual power” while the structuralist, approach “seeks to explain individual thought and action primarily through the material, economic, and social conditions that constitute society” (Williams 2003 cited in Behague 2008). Following Brindis et al. (2005), for instance, three ideal types of theoretical frameworks exist to help understand social problems of teenage pregnancy: individual level, familial or community level and structural level. Bourdieu, influenced by structuralist, poststructuralist, and phenomenological traditions, sought to resolve the polarisation between subjectivist and objectivist approaches, via development a new theoretical framework incorporation the concepts of fields, habitus, and capital.

According to Bourdieu’s framework for studying social practice, the relationship among these concepts may be written as [(habitus) (capital)] + field = practice (Bourdieu, 1984:101). In Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, a field is a system of specific social positions structured in relation to given power relations through which individuals or determinate agents (e.g. teenagers, students, patients, and fathers) manoeuvre and struggle over desirable resources.

While fields may be distinct and semi-autonomous, their composition and characteristics intersect and interact in a dynamic rather than static fashion (Postone et al.1993 cited in Stoetzler 2004). Habitus encompasses the total existential environment of a person, including beliefs, dispositions, and personal orientations, ‘and makes possible the achievement of infinitely diversified tasks’ (Bourdieu 1972 cited in Bourdieu 1972). The position of an agent in a particular field is the result of the interplay between the agent’s habitus and his or her interaction with diverse social fields (Bourdieu 1993). The manifestation of an agent’s habitus is not through creative potential, but via progressive interactions with various social fields (Postone et al. 1993). For Bourdieu an agent’s multiple positions in social fields are defined by the variegated distribution of diverse forms of capital. Access to and use of capital in one field confers rewards (strength, power, and profit) which can be transferred to other fields.

Teenage girls’ sexual behaviour can be understood and analysed by using habitus. Habitus can be understood as the combination in each person of previous biography, their sense of identity or identities, lifestyle, personality, class and cultural background, and the beliefs, attitudes and values which can be referred to as ‘dispositions’. It is the mental structure through which people deal with the social world. Habitus can be a set of internalised schemes through which the world is perceived, understood, appreciated and evaluated.

According to Arai (2009), individuals are influenced by factors operating at different levels such as personal, family, neighbourhood and wider cultural influences. Teen pregnancy and motherhood are the results of many interacting factors that are not only limited by the individual behaviour. Teenage girl’s sexual behaviour is influenced by their own attitudes and interests but also their relationships with in the family, community, social system, their class and gender in society behaviour.

Habitus consists of deeply internalised dispositions, schemas and forms of know-how and corporeal, first acquired by the individual through early childhood socialisation. The dispositions of habitus are acquired informally through the experience of social interactions by processes of imitation, repetition, role-play, and game participation (Swartz, 2002). According to Christian (2012), habitus that is produced by individuals’ past experiences from the individual and collective practices. According to Bourdieu (1990), he argues that the habitus both produces and is produced by the social world.

The concept of field is the objective complement to the idea of habitus. Swartz (2002) posits that habitus generates action not in a social vacuum but in structured social contexts called fields. Bourdieu argues that fields are competitive arenas of struggle over different kinds of capital. Agents oppose each other in order to gain advantage over the stakes in the field.

Bourdieu applies the term of ‘fields’ to mirror the fragmentation of society into segments or ‘worlds’ (Crossely, 2005). The family system, the education system, the economic system among others can be considered as fields under Bourdieu’s approach in distinguishing the different sectors in the society. Christian (2012) argues that there are many other aspects that are more significant other than individuals in interaction. Bourdieu (1984 cited in Crossley 2005) notes that the normal traditions, schemas of categorisation and codes prevailing in the field determine the role of the agents in the field. These agents are apportioned various positions in accordance with their access to power and capital in the field.

Bourdieu’s theory has different forms of capital which are closely interconnected. Cultural capital which consists of embodied body/mind dispositions and goods as well as education. According to Bourdieu, Cultural Capital is acquired in childhood families through ‘habitus’. It is learnt in the childhood family and taken as self-evident ( Bourdieu 1990, 53-65). For example, if a child grew up in a family where the other sisters have been falling pregnant during their teen ages, that child is likely to follow suit. She might think that falling pregnant during teen ages as normal in that family setup. In Zimbabwe, the Marange sect has a history of marry off their teenage daughters. The girls and their parents do not see anything wrong doing in that practice because it has been a culture that has been done for a long time in that church. Also teenage girls who come from well up families tend to follow their family history. They follow the culture of education which will have made the family well up. The habitus which a teenager is socialised creates that individual characteristic. Wealth, power and status can be used to obtain social resources through cultural capital.

1.10.2 Social Capital

Social capital refers to resources based on connections and group membership. It is accumulated through durable networks which are based on mutual acquaintances or recognition. Social capital is referred to by Bourdieu as ‘the sum of the resources, actual or visual, that accrue to an individual or group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalised relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition’ (Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992: 119). Carlo Raffo and Michelle Reeves, cited in Tolonen, 2008, in their new social capital theory highlight that young people make decisions individually but these decisions are made in social networks that draw from different material and symbolic resources available for young people. Family characteristics, income level, educational background and religion influence the incidence of teenage pregnancy. Symbolic capital is the form that the different types of capital take, once they are perceived and recognised as legitimate (Skeggs 1997 and Bourdieu 1997/1986 cited by Tolonen, 2008).

1.10.3 Economic Capital

According to Bourdieu, economic capital refers to wealth and financial assets and is typically passed down through the family or generated from interactions with other individuals (Bourdieu 1977). The economic capital is produced in the economic field but the economic field transcends all other fields making economic capital a valuable asset in many social settings. Agbalekpor (2012) posits that economic capital of agents in the field refers to the amount of money they possess, their assets that can be converted to monetary capital in the form of inter alia land, houses, and ornaments.

1.11 Summary

The chapter covered background, problem statement, and theoretical framework, definition of terms, purpose, research objectives, research questions and significance to sociology.

CHAPTER 2

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

Several studies suggest that there are more negative than positive outcomes of teenage pregnancy on the short term and long term socio-economic condition and psychological status of mothers who had a baby as a teenager. The causes of teenage pregnancy and fertility are complex and affected by a range of motivational and external factors. This research considers the various short term and long term socio-economic and psychological effects of teenage pregnancy.

According to UNICEF (2004), adolescent pregnancy and childbearing rates in Africa are the highest in the world where annual births per 1000 women aged 15 to 19 years are as high as 229 in Angola, 230 in Liberia and 233 in Niger as compared to two (2) in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, four (4) in Netherlands and five (5) in Sweden and Switzerland.

Oyefara (2009) notes that teenage pregnancy and fertility has negative effects for the affected adolescent girl, her child and the entire society in the region. He notes that in Sub Saharan African countries teenage pregnancy and fertility are more life threatening. Many of the deaths and mortality rates are caused by teenage pregnancies. Dixon- Muller,( 2008) and Palermo and Peterman (2009) cited in Oyefara (2009) also notes that in Sub Saharan Africa, adolescent childbearing is more dangerous and may have devastating outcomes on both the mother and child. These might be caused by poverty, poor living conditions, insufficient medical care and other economic and psychological factors.

Social capital is a term used to define social resources which can facilitate positive outcomes with respect to a broad range of phenomena. Bourdieu defines social capital in terms of social networks and connections (Bourdieu, 1984).According to McPherson et al. (2013), Coleman promotes the idea that social capital is a resource of social relations between families and communities.

Laschever (2010) indicates that parents play an important role in teaching children how to navigate sexual relationships and that parental involvement influences adolescent sexual behaviour. Biglan (2010) cited by Laschever (2010) posits that couples who engage in dialogue about sex before intercourse more consistently use ‘safe-sex practices’ and when parents communicate with adolescents about sexuality and sexual risks, the adolescent in question more often discusses condom use with his or her partner. This shows cooperation and collective action.

According to Wekwete (2010), young women are said to engage in sexual relationships with older men for material gain, driven by peer pressure to acquire various high-status items and by poverty. Hulton, Cullen and Khalokho (2000); Craig and Ritcher-Strydom (1983) cited in Wekwete (2010) argues that adolescents are affected by sexual attributes and behaviours of their friends. This is because adolescents relate more to their friends than their parents. Wekwete (2010) also states that having a sister who becomes pregnant prematurely was also associated with an increased like hood of being sexually initiated.

2.3 Early Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy

The changeover from adolescence to adulthood is sharply cut short by early marriage. In developing countries, 20-50 percent of women are married by the age of 18 with the highest percentages in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia as posited by Singh and Samara (1996). WHO (2009) reports that 30% of girls in developing countries marry before 18 years of age; around 14% do so before the age of 15. Runhare (2010) indicates that in Sub-Saharan Africa, while poverty, non-payment of fees, child labour, household chores and illness are explicit causes for secondary school dropout rate, pregnancy and marriage have continued to feature prominently for pushing more girls out of school.

Sithole et. al (2013) argue that unavailability of funds and societal preference to educate the boy child at the expense of the girl child were some of the various reasons that force young girls to drop out of school. Parents do not value the girl child, instead she is made a sacrifice for the boy child. Some girls are forced into marriage so that the lobola proceeds are used to pay school fees for the boy child.

In Zimbabwe, according to the Ministry of Education Sport and Culture Report (2004 cited in Runhare 2010) pregnancy and marriage continue to feature as one of the reasons for leaving formal school. UNICEF (2001) noted that premature marriages deprives them (teenage girls) the opportunity for personal development as well as ... wellbeing, education and participation in civic life. According to Smith (2002) early marriages are compounded by many social factors such as becoming least important member in a family, having too little employment opportunities and too little choices for everything.

The ZDHS 2005-2006 published by CSO (2007), in Zimbabwe , overall, 21% of women age 15-19 have begun childbearing. Rural adolescents and those with less education tend to start chid bearing early.

2.4 Poverty and Teenage pregnancy

The inability to have the necessary means to satisfy basic needs such as food, housing, access to basic education and health and sanitation services defines poverty. According to Tiruneh (2010) he notes that poverty cannot be limited only to material resources but also to lack of participation in different aspects of life. Lack of material resources and exclusion from sociocultural activities means poverty.

According to Kirby (2007), Miller et. al. (2001), Woodward et. Al. (2001) cited in Tiruneh (2010), the issue of teenage pregnancy indicate that teen mothers are likely to have been brought in less-advantageous social environments, come from poor families and experience pre-existing disadvantages that results from poorer economic circumstances. Allan Guttmacher Institute Report (1994) notes that sixty percent of teenagers who become pregnant are living in poverty at the time of the birth.

National Council of Welfare (2004) posits that teen pregnancy is highly correlated with living in poverty. First Steps Housing Project Report (2006 cited in Dilworth 2006) argue that teens living in poverty were more likely to get pregnant than teens who do not. According to Brindis and Reyes (1997) young women with below average academic skills coming from families with below poverty incomes are about five times more likely to become teenage mothers than those with solid skills and above average family incomes.

[...]

• Course: Sociology and Gender Development Studies
• Author: Millicent Chirozva (Author)
• Publication Year: 2014
• Pages: 69
• Catalog Number: V990651
• ISBN (eBook): 9783346363268
• ISBN (Book): 9783346363275
• Language: English
• Tags: Teenage pregnancy, socioeconomic effects of early marriage, social capital, Zimbabwe, Bourdieu