CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Introduction

One of the most important and alarming issues since the past few years until

today’s world is teenage pregnancy. A teenage pregnancy is referred as teen pregnancy,

comes to be when a girl attains motherhood before she becomes a major adult. Teenage

pregnancy can have a profound impact on a teen’s life. It is a communal problem, a

family problem and a personal problem all rolled into one.

Among the six ASEAN major economies, the highest rate in teenage pregnancy is

the Philippines especially amongst the poor (UNFPA). Teenage pregnancy exists because

of some factors linked and issued several risk consequences that affects the Youth’s life.

According to Honig, young people involve in a teenage pregnancy experience are

usually totally unprepared often they have very little idea of what it means to be a parent,

and “Many men responsible for impregnating teenager’s provide little or no support to

the girls” (Domenico and Jones 2007). Noticeable consequences of teenage pregnancy

include dropping out of school, truancy, abortion, child neglect and poverty (Kanku&

Mash 2010:564).

The status of teenage pregnancy in Dipolog city was still increasing. The main

issued reason is they don’t value or educate sexual interaction and its effect, situational of

their life, failure in using contraceptives and some are unwanted or accident such as rape
 and intoxicated caused. However, it is alarming that the rate of teenage pregnancy is still

increasing from 7.1% in 2000 to as high as 11.7% in 2010. Hence, DSWD conducted

Youth Development Session (YDS) to address the alarming increase of teenage

pregnancies and notify the values education to avoid early and unplanned pregnancies.

The purpose of this study is to impart to the teenager, what the situation will take

when imaging the women’s early pregnancy especially amongst the poor in Dipolog City.

Through it, a teenager should know to appreciate or value themselves and lessen the

called teenage pregnancy.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored by the following theories and collection of interrelated concepts

relevant to the resolution to this study.

Researchers have used several theories to explain adolescent sexual and fertility behavior

and, to a lesser extent, to develop pregnancy prevention programs. Some theories are quite

narrow and presume that a small set of individual or personal characteristics are key to human

behavior.

The social learning theory (Bandura, 1977,1986) assumes that whether an individual will

engage in or avoid a behavior is determined by a sequence of factors. First, the individual must

understand the association of a behavior with an outcome, for insance, that unprotected sex

carries a high risk of pregnancy. Second, the person must believe that he or she is capable of

either engaging in or avoiding the behavior and that the specific strategy chosen can be

implemented effectively. Example, individuals must believe that they have the capacity to

abstain from sex and that they can effectively employ a strategy to avoid sex. Finally, people
must believe that avoiding the outcome is beneficial, for example, that delaying sex will make

their lives better in ways that matter to them. Individuals develop their specific attitudes and

feelings about behaviors for themselves by observing the behaviors of others, by observing the

rewards and punishments the behavior (and the avoidance of the behavior) elicits, and then by

developing the necessary skills through practice that enable them to behave in accordance with

the beliefs they develop.

On theother hand, the Reasoned Action Theory on the by Fishbein & Ajzen (1980, 1975)

emphasizes the importance of an intention to engage in a behavior and attempts to explain the

factors that determine that intention. Factors presumed to influence such intentions consist of (1)

one’s belief regarding the outcome of the behavior in question; (2) one’s assessment that the

outcome of the behavior is good or desirable; (3) one’s assessment that the outcome is desired by

significant others; and (4) the individual’s motivation to comply with the preferences of these

significant others. According to this model, an adolescent would have to believe that avoiding

sex will prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, that avoiding pregnancy and STDs

is desirable, that the significant persons in their lives want them to avoid pregnancy and STDs,

and that they want to comply with the views of the significant persons in their lives.

The two mentioned theories give justice to this study as it talks about the powerful part of

our body which is the human brain. The theories give out reasons on how to minimize the

commitment of early pregnancy, with these theories; specific intervention programs can be laid

out by the government, specifically the local city social worker development office to avoid

teenage pregnancy.
Conceptual Framework

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Teenage Pregnancy
 Physical Factor
 Financial Factor
 Emotional Factor STATUS OF
 Level of TEENAGE
Education
PREGNANCY

PROFILE OF THERESPONDENTS:
Age
Gender
Annual/Family income
Parental Status

Intervening Variables

Figure 1: Schematic Diagram of the study

Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to impart the status of teenage pregnancy in Dipolog City.

Specifically, the study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1. Age

1.2. Gender

1.3. Annual Family Income; and

1.4. Parental Status

2. What are the respondents’ perception on the status of teenage pregnancy in terms of:

2.1. Physical Factor

2.2. Financial Factor

2.3. Emotional Factor; and

2.4. Level of Education.

3. What is the scenario of teenage pregnancy of the teenager respondents?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the respondents perception and the stats of teenage

pregnancy?

5. Is there a significant relationship between the status of teenage pregnancy and the profile of

teenage pregnancy?

Hypothesis

HO1 – There is significant relationship between those who engaged teenage pregnancy

and to those who give a positive response to it.

 H02 - There is significant relationship between those who engaged teenage pregnancy

and to those who give a negative response to it.

Significance of the Study

This study aims to get the reaction of college students towards teenage pregnancy that might be

of help to the following:

Students . This study will give them idea on what are the health effects of early pregnancy and

how to divert their attention to avoid the issue.

Parents. This study will give them idea on how to educate their children at home to avoid

getting caught by early pregnancy.

Educators. This study will give them additional information on how to improve their strategies

in education students on Early Pregnancy.

Department of Health. This study will give them further ideas on how to intensify programs

that would divert interest of the youth to address the problem.

Scope and Limitation

This study focused on the status of the teenagers, early pregnancy in Dipolog City. The

Study covered the period from first semester of academic year 2018-2019 and was conducted at

DSWD program, Dipolog City.

The gathering data was done through survey, observation and giving of questionnaires to

the respondents to determine their profile in terms of age, gender, annual/Family Income and

Parental Status.
Definition of Terms

To further guide the researchers, the following operational terms are being defined:

Teenage Pregnancy. As used in the study means the issue involving early pregnancy of young

women between the ages 12-19.

Media. As used in the study means an outlet that influences adolescent sexual behavior

Peers. As used in the study refers to the teens association with others (friends) that influences

their sexual behavior

Premarital Sex. As used in the study refers to involvement to sex at adolescent age

Lack of Knowledge. As used in the study refers to the limited information acquired by teens

about sex

Teen Mothers. As used in the study refers to adolescent women engaged into early pregnancy.

Child Birth Healthcare. As used in the study refers to the institutions provided by the

government where teen moms are taken care of.

Breast Feeding. As used in the study refers to the lactation process of the young mother to her

child.

Parenting. As used in the study refers to the process of raising the child from birth by a mother

and or father

Social Services. As used in the study refers to the programs implemented by the government to

lessen occurrence of Teenage Pregnancy

 CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter presents the literature cited and studies conducted that give a stand to the

existing study.

Related Literature

Teen pregnancy in the United States hit a record low at 31.3 births per 1,000 women ages

fifteen to nineteen years old (“QuickStats,” 2012). Basch (2011) believes that this drop is due to

an increase in access to sex education, a delay in initial sexual intercourse, and an increase in

contraceptive use; however, he also stated that girls born to teen mothers are “66% more likely to

become teen mothers” themselves (p. 614). Although the pregnancy rate for adolescents has

been steadily declining, the United States has a much higher rate of teen pregnancy in

comparison to other developed countries. Cavazos-Rehg, Krauss, Spitznagel, Schootman,

Cottler, and Bierut (2013) estimated that teenage pregnancy is “as much as nine times higher

than in other developed countries” (p. 470). The disproportion of teen pregnancies among

different races is also noteworthy. “In 2006, the birth rate among 15- to 17-year-old non

Hispanic Blacks (36.1 per 1000) was more than three times as high, and the birth rate among

Hispanics (47.9 per 1000) was more than four times as high as the birth rate among non-Hispanic

Whites (11.8 per 1000)” (Basch, 2011, p. 614). Many of these young mothers face challenges

that affect their life, as well as their children, including being single parents, not earning their

high school diploma, and living in poverty (Basch, 2011; Weiss, 2012).
 Many factors can contribute to a teen’s risk of becoming pregnant. Family history and

home life seem to have an impact on teenage girls. Ditsela and Van Dyk (2011) did an

exploratory study on the risk and protective factors associated with adolescent pregnancy.

Through their study, they found a correlation between the parenting style in the girl’s

home and teenage pregnancy. The findings suggest that adolescent pregnancy will be more

common in young women who grow up with authoritarian or permissive parents. In contrast,

“adolescents who perceived their parents to be more responsive, communicative and allowing of

them to develop were” less likely to get pregnant as a teenager (p. 582). Ditsela and Van Dyk

emphasize the importance of parental relationships with their children as a protective factor

against teen pregnancy. In their article, the authors encouraged parents to foster open

communication in their home, especially around the topics of sex and sexuality. Unfortunately,

some parents resist talking with their teenagers about strategies to prevent pregnancies (Weiss,

2012).

Typically adolescent mothers are “characterized as having poor family structures, a lack

of social support and elevated rates of stress that each raises the risk of postpartum depression”

(Lanzi, et. al., 2010, p.200); however, mental health counselors, as well as other school and

community resources, can help. Social support, including that from counselors and other

professionals, can act as a stress-buffer, which can have a positive effect on the mental health

and parental behaviors of the teen parent. These behaviors may include staying in school or using

more positive parenting practices (Basch, 2011; Lanzi, et. al., 2010). As a result, this has “the

potential to positively impact the developing mother-child relationship” (Lanzi, et. al., 2010,

p.200).
Related Studies

One study focused on parental communication about sex and the association “between

exposure to MTV’s 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom and female students’ pregnancy-risk behavior”

(Wright, Randall, Arroyo, 2013). In this study, researchers found that there was not a

relationship between mothers and the effects of sexual media on their daughters’ sexual

behaviors; conversely, the researchers did find a correlation with fathers. Teenage girls who

watched the MTV shows often were shown to have an increased probability of engaging in

sexual intercourse; however, “frequent viewing was associated with a decreased probability of

having engaged in recent intercourse for females whose fathers often communicated about sex

with them while growing up” (Wright, et. al., 2013, p. 50). This finding is similar to the research

that Ditsela and Van Dyk (2011) presented, which showed that a “lack of parental support is

related to RSB” (risky sexual behavior) (p. 581).

Researchers have also taken a close look at teenagers’ attitudes about adolescent

pregnancy. Cavazos-Rehg, et. al. (2013) found that 16% of the girls in their study, who were

sexually active, “would be pleased (11% a little pleased, 5% very pleased) if they became

pregnant” (p.470). They found a correlation between the pleased attitude towards pregnancy and

prior pregnancy, the parent’s level of education, and racial or ethnic group. Similar to the

research presented earlier, Cavazos-Rehg, et. al. (2013) also found a relationship between young

women’s attitudes toward pregnancy and their parents. Girls who had discussed sexual health

and types of birth control with their parents were less likely to say they would be very pleased

with a teenage pregnancy. “Participants who had not yet discussed sexual health topics (i.e., how

to say no to sexual intercourse or birth control) or had only discussed birth control with a parent

were more likely to be very pleased with a teenage pregnancy” (Cavazos-Rehg, et. al., 2013, p.

470). It is not worthy that the majority of the sample group “would be upset with a teenage
pregnancy (49% would be very upset and 35% would be a little upset)” (Cavazos-Rehg, et. al.,

2013, p. 472). With that said, it is estimated that one in four teenage pregnancies is unwanted and

that “three fourths of all teenage pregnancies are unintended” (East, Chien, Barber, 2012, p.

180).

Parenting as adolescent increases the teenagers stress level, especially if that pregnancy is

unwanted or unintended. Research has shown that being a teen parent can be especially stressful

due to education disruptions, being unprepared for parenthood, disruption in their life plans,

sudden monetary burden, realization that the teen will have a lifelong connection with the other

parent or ending the relationship with the other parent (East, et. al., 2012). East, et. al. studied the

“consequences of adolescents’ pregnancy intentions, wantedness, and regret for their and their

children’s well-being” (p. 183). The results of their study indicated that the adolescent young

women who adjusted best to parenting were those who self-reported their pregnancy as “highly

wanted and intended” (p.183). They also found that “adolescents who evaluated their

pregnancies as highly unintended and unwanted appeared to experience an initial problematic

adaption to parenting” (pg. 183). These findings are similar to adult mothers. The difference

between adults and teenagers is how their attitude changes during pregnancy and post childbirth.

Teen mothers tend to show a decrease in their self-reported desire of a pregnancy. In East et. al.’s

study (2012), “76% of adolescents indicated that they wanted their pregnancy “very much” while

pregnant, and this decreased to 26% at 1 year postpartum 5% of teens responded that they did not

want this pregnancy “at all” while pregnant; this increased to 33% at 1 year” (p.179). This is the

opposite of what has been shown in adult mothers. Adults tend to report a greater wantedness

after giving birth. The research team gave several possible explanations for this difference found

between adult and teen mothers. One explanation is that teen mothers do not bond as well as
adult mothers with their babies. A second possibility is that the romantic relationship between

the teen mother and father dissipates after the child’s birth, resulting in anger and resentment

towards the baby’s father being “transferred onto feelings about the pregnancy” (p. 180).

Justification to the Study

The literature of this study as cited above serves as legal bases will help the researcher to

understand that the present study is already a long thrust of the Philippine government. Since

years ago, the government thrust about

Teenage / children rights and protection were relied more through parents look out. But

today government intensifies their thrust of their welfare and that includes protection from

teenage pregnancy with the cooperation of parents, teachers, community and an agency assigned

by the government for that purpose.

In a study conducted in 2016, Teenage pregnancy has been viewed with increasing

concern in recent years. In the United Kingdom, the issue became a public health priority

through the incorporation of targets for reducing teenage pregnancy in the “Health of the Nation”

strategy. The continuing political importance of teenage pregnancy is marked by the current

government's decision to commission a report by its Social Exclusion Unit. Although the UK has

the highest teenage fertility rate in Europe, the perception of teenage pregnancy as an increasing

problem is false; the live birth rate to teenage women in the UK in 1987 was 30.9/1000

compared with 49.7/1000 in 1970.

Health concerns have focused on the medical risks to the young mother and her infant.
Teenage women have been reported at increased risk of pregnancy complications, postnatal

depression and, if married, of early marital breakdown. Children of teenage mothers have a

higher risk of adverse perinatal and later childhood outcomes. However, when confounding by

socioeconomic status is properly accounted for, differences in perinatal outcome disappear and

successful parenting is more dependent on adequate material resources and social support than

maternal age.

Teenage pregnancy and teenage mothering show social gradients in the expected

direction with high rates associated with high levels of deprivation. However, the gradient is

much less marked for conception than it is for childbearing with a much higher abortion rate

among more socially advantaged teenage women.

In a study published by Andrew McCulloch's paper in this issue of the journal confirms

the gradient and contributes to the debate on the relative strength of individual and area level

factors in determining social gradients in health. Using the 2% sample of anonymised records

(SAR) from the 1991 census linked with area data from districts of residence identifiable in the

SAR, his results show an association between non-marital teenage childbearing and residence in

deprived areas that is largely attributable to personal disadvantage. The effects of area

independent of individual level disadvantage are small.

McCulloch's findings are consistent with work implicating individual level economic

factors in teenage childbearing. A study based on the OPCS (now ONS) Longitudinal Study

suggested that unemployment might be causally related to teenage childbearing as young

unemployed women aged 17–19.

 McCulloch's paper is a further contribution to the debate on health inequalities and

explanations for social gradients. His findings tend to support the neo-materialist explanations

for social gradients in health advanced by Lynch et al against explanations based on social

capital and social coherence.10 The debate is not a sterile academic exercise but has major health

and social policy implications. If personal material disadvantage appears to have a stronger

association with teenage childbearing than area disadvantage then health and social policy should

be directed primarily at alleviating personal disadvantage rather than focusing on strengthening

area level characteristics such as social capital.

However, inequalities and social gradients in different health outcomes will not

necessarily all be sensitive to the same social and health policy changes. Health inequalities

research should continue to clarify the determinants and mediators of specific outcomes. While

McCulloch's findings suggest that individual level measures account for much of the area level

differences in teenage childbearing, area level measures of socioeconomic status remain useful

tools for studying social gradients and, for some outcomes, may be preferable to individual level

measures such as the Registrar General's social class.

Researchers for the Guttmacher Institute have found that the first instance of sexual intercourse

often happens as a result of coercion and those adolescents with a history of incest or non-familial sexual

abuse had higher odds of pregnancy.

The United States will be able to keep seeing a decline in teenage pregnancy rates only if effective

programs can continue and if children who have suffered the trauma of sexual abuse can receive

appropriate care and treatment.

 Another study conducted in United States and was published in New York Times, September

2017 concluded that Technology also contributes to early pregnancy:

Curiosity, for better or worse, will be satisfied online

Young people have always been curious about sex, and when our teenagers have questions, the

internet is usually their first stop, for worse and for better. Adolescents can and do find highly explicit

sexual material online, and an emerging body of research tells a worrisome story about the place of

pornography in young people’s lives. For example, a new research review links exposure to sexually

explicit and sexually abusive media to an increased occurrence and acceptance of both dating violence

and sexual violence.

On a more positive note, teenagers also turn to the internet for information about relationships and

sexual health. Indeed, a recent report found that rates of teenage births and sexually transmitted infections

dropped in communities as high-speed internet access improved. The researchers concluded that the

reduction in adolescent births was not clearly linked to a shift in abortion rates and was likely explained,

in part, by increased access to information about contraception and how to obtain it.

Parents can address both of these fronts by talking with teenagers about pornography and by

directing them to dependable online information. While books about healthy sexuality can serve as

excellent resources for children and tweens, older adolescents may appreciate (or, at least, tolerate)

having their parents highlight online options such as Sex, Etc., a youth friendly website sponsored by

Answer at Rutgers University.

Some adolescents might comfortably surf sexual education websites with their parents, while

others might prefer to receive a text message from their folks (“Sharing, without comment, a site with
solid info…”). And some will welcome an oblique approach — should your teenager mention that a

classmate has a serious girlfriend you could say, “If they need it, I hope that they know to check out the

health and relationship information that Planned Parenthood puts up online.”

Dating violence can be digital.

Parents should consider talking with their teenagers about abusive relationships, and a

conversation about digital mistreatment would be a good place to start. In a recent survey, more than half

of adolescent girls and boys had dated someone who tried to monitor or control them by texting so

frequently that it made the recipient uncomfortable, expecting immediate responses, asking for their

passwords, or tracking their location or social activity.

The same report also found that nearly half of teenagers had been in a relationship with a partner

who used technology against them, either to spread rumors, post embarrassing or hurtful messages, or

make threats. And roughly a third experienced sexual coercion via digital means: they were pressured to

have sex, received unwanted sexual images or were urged to send them, or had their nude pictures sent to

others without permission.

In talking with our teenagers about coercive relationships, we should acknowledge that “if

someone wants to know what you are doing all the time, that can feel like a really close relationship” but

that healthy romances are grounded in trust and support, not spying or intimidation. Further, we can tell

our teenagers that we stand ready to help if they ever “feel pushed around by a boyfriend or girlfriend,

either online or in person.”

Relationships can become round-the-clock affairs.

 It’s hard to imagine that anything could up the intensity of a teenager’s first love, but digital

technology seems to have done the job. When adolescents in my practice talk about their happy romances,

I’m often amazed at how completely their lives are saturated by them.

Teenage couples awaken together by text or call, communicate — hopefully not while driving —

on the way to school, connect in person during the day while still texting, FaceTime through their

homework, then virtually snuggle online before falling asleep. On more than one occasion I’ve found

myself listening to the details of a teenager’s day thinking that my husband and I, except for when we

traveled together before we had children, have never been as completely intertwined as many young

couples are now.

Most adolescents keep up their friendships and activities even when enjoying healthy, albeit

wall-to-wall, romances. Still, it’s important to appreciate what it means for a teenager when an

omnipresent relationship ends. In addition to contending with heartbreak, the suddenly single teenager has

to find a new way to begin and end each day and to fill a lot of the time in between. Lovelorn teenagers

usually bounce back pretty quickly, but parents shouldn’t underestimate the scale of the loss in the short

term.

Technology adds some new twists to the age-old roller coaster of teenage romance. Our

adolescents may know more than we do about the online world, but we know more about the romantic

one. Even if their love lives don’t look like the ones we remember, we still owe it to teenagers to find

ways to offer our support and guidance.

CHAPTER III
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, research locale, the respondents, sampling

procedure, data gathering tools, the scoring procedure and the treatment data in the foregoing

study.

Research Design

Basically, this study employed a descriptive research design. Certain questions were

designed to draw out responses on specific information regarding the views of respondents on

the status of teenage pregnancy based on the records of Dipolog City Social Welfare and

Development.

Research Locale

This study was being conducted at the office of City Social Welfare and Development,

Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte.

Respondents of the study

The respondents of this study are social workers working in City Social Welfare and

Development in Dipolog City. This study will consist of half of the total number of workers on

the said department to establish resolution of this study.

The Research Instrument

The researchers employed a self- made questionnaire to gather data of the present study.

First part of it is on the demographic profile of the respondents. The second part will focus on the

status of teenage pregnancy and the third part will be ideas on what programs should be

implemented by City Social Welfare and Development of Dipolog to lessen the increasing issue

on Teenage Pregnancy.

To determine the validity of the instrument being used, construct validity will be

established by the researchers. Thus the scores from conducted survey will be assessed

statistically and practically to see if the result recorded attends to the purpose of this study.

Data Gathering Procedure

Prior to the collection of data, permission was secured from the Research Adviser and

Dean of College of Education of Jose Rizal Memorial State University Dipolog Campus.

The researchers will then pick their qualified respondents through their self-made

questionnaires. Data gathering will and short interview to the heads or point persons of City

Social Welfare and Development Dipolog will also be done personally by the researchers.

Statistical Treatment

In the analysis of the data of the study, the researchers will employ the following

statistical tools.