Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related studies and important concepts gleamed for

literature that have had been found useful in the conceptualization of the present study.

These related studies and literature offered assessment and enrichment in the conduct of

this research work on teenage pregnancy.

Related Literature

The adolescent is faced with many decisions and needs accurate information on

topics such as body changes , sexual activity, emotional responses within intimate sexual

relationships, STD’s, and pregnancy. In the United States 70% of adolescents have had

sexual intercourse by the age of 18 (Kenney et al, 1998). A substantial number of these

teenagers do not protect themselves from pregnancy or STD’s. The dynamics of sexual risk

taking are not fully understood, but numerous studies have found correlations between

drug/alcohol use, sexual abuse, and unsafe sex. (Keller et al. 2001; Kenney et al, 2000).

Adolescents tend to have a sense of being invulnerable, believing that unwanted pregnancy;

STD’s and other negative outcomes of sexual behaviour are not likely to happen to them

(Keller et al, 2000).

Adolescent parents face different barriers. According to Spivak: “it has been

acknowledged that adolescent parents tend to come in high risk families have poor

academic achievement, and lived in our most disadvantaged communities and therefore,

biologic, economic, and behavioural factors contribute to the increased likelihood of

teenager having children who are vulnerable to physical and developmental problems.
 Teenage parents face many obstacles to economic and social success, and these

further influence the environment in which their children grow up. Adolescent also

experience many difficulties in adjusting to parenthood and display a range of suboptimal

parenting practices, whereas some of these appears highly resistant to change, others have

clinical, programmatic, and policy implications.

The “Lack of Parental Guidance Contributes to Teen Pregnancy”, states that most

people evade their children from talking about sex. In some case they provide false

information regarding sex and discourage their children to participate in any informative

discussion about sex. Also teenage mothers are not well educated about sex before getting

pregnant and thus this leads to lack of communication between the parents and their

children (Hoffman 2004).

Consequently, there can be no “one size fits all” conclusion here. But at the same

time, it is possible and useful to describe the average effect of teenage childbearing and

recognizing that the average conceals underlying variation in both directions. Measuring

the socio-economic effects of early childbearing sounds like it ought to be a simple task.

After all, everyone knows that teenage mothers are much worse off on many dimensions

than women who delay childbearing. Their family incomes are lower, they are more likely

to be poor and to be receiving welfare, and they are likely to be married. Additionally, their

children lag on standard measures of early development. But such facts by themselves do

not establish that a teenage birth is the single cause of those problems or what if we could

successfully intervene and change a woman’s age at first birth and nothing else about her

up to that point, we would greatly alter her life circumstances. Early aged pregnancy has

its effect on the socio-economic status of the childbearing teenage.

 Berrington (2013) emphasized that: policies aimed at reducing inequalities in adult

health need to take a life-long perspective and to tackle social disadvantages across the life

course. Teenage motherhood is an important independent pathway through which poor

socio-economic conditions in childhood translate into higher rates of both mental and

overall ill health adulthood. The poorer mental health of teenage mothers has implications

for the subsequent generation and hence contributes to the intergenerational transmission

of disadvantage.

According to Torvillas (2013) The Philippine Star noted that there is evidence

supporting the Reproductive health law that calls for sexuality education among young

students. Not that for teaching the kids to engage in “safe” sex, but rather, for telling them

why they should not engage in early sex, and yes, before marriage. With regulated sexuality

education, the young are informed about sex, pregnancy, unplanned and planned, instead

of through the internet or pornographic magazines that somehow manage to reach them.

Peep into their rooms and see copies of Playboy and Pent house and other sexy publications

tucked between the bed sheets, and for-adults-only videos in the internet.

The factors that triggers the Teenage pregnancy in the country are: Family

problems, broken family/complicated family, peer pressure/bad influence,

Media/Television/Movies Influential Trends (regarding sex), pornography, lack of

attention, love, caring, lack of moral values, failure to nurture with good principle,

curiosity, lack of information about Sex (sex education), use of illegal drugs, lack of

Guidance, prostitution (involve poverty), unintelligent decision etc. (Discover questions in

the Philippines, 2013).

 Murrah (2003) defined adolescence as a period when many physical, emotional

psychological and social changes are taking place there is no way to predict how particular

youth will behave sexually. Many adolescents at this age explore relationship and fall in

and out of love. They are exploring intimacy, establishing independence from their families

and achieving their own identity they are trying out new ideas and behaviour that they often

perceived as adult. Such as intimate relationship and at times sexual relationship

In the Philippines, NSO (2013) showed in their data that 13-14 percent of all

registered marriage is among teenagers below 20 years old while data from the National

Youth Commission showed that the rate of teen pregnancy in the country is among the

highest in the ASEAN region and the only country where the rate is increasing. The global

issue of teen pregnancy is the reason why the annual celebration of World Population Day-

July 11- lead by United Nations Population Fund, focuses on addressing teen pregnancy.

Related Studies

Foreign

According to Advocates for Youth, “Adolescent mothers are less likely to complete

their education and are most likely to face limited career and economic opportunities

compared to women whose first child is born after the age of 20. “A child whose mother

has no education is twice as likely to drop out of school then one whose mother is educated

and an estimated one-third of adolescents, who are teen parents, are products of teenage

pregnancies. Fergusson, Horwood, Woodward, (2001).

 According to Cultivation Theory, television is the most powerful storyteller in the

culture, one that continually respects the myths and ideologist, the facts and patterns of

relationships that define and legitimize the social order. According to the cultivation

hypothesis, a steady dose of television, over time, acts like the pull of gravity toward an

imaged-centre. This pull results in a shared set of conceptions and expectations about

reality among otherwise diverse viewers. Gerbner, Gross, (2001).

Kinsman et. al (2004) conducted a study that focused on the role of peer norms in

early sexual initiation of sixth-grade students found that those who were sexually initiated

were significantly more likely that others to be older (11.9 years versus 11.6 years), male

(58 percent versus 37 percent), attending a poorer school (87 percent versus 85 percent),

and living in an area with a high proportion of single-parent families (45p percent versus

41 percent).

Giocolea’s (2009) study on risk factors of pregnancy among adolescent girls found

that early sexual debut; non-use of conception during first sexual intercourse, living in a

very poor household, having suffered from sexual abuse during childhood pregnancies,

there is an effect on the economy. The effects of teenage pregnancies on the economy are

not felt immediately, but are long term.

Gearhart's (2008) study on teen pregnancy, linked to viewing of sexual content on

TV, found that adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television programs that

contain sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the following

three years as their peers who watch few such shows.

 Crystal’s (2001) study on factors associated on sexual behaviour among adolescent

asserted that sexual behaviour depends largely on societal constrictions and the level of

cultural permissiveness, which dictates the modes of sexual practices. Biological

determinants through have its role on peoples sexual behaviour, the agents of

socialization. Such as families, peers, religious institution.

Chan’s (2005) study on adolescent sexuality sample of Hong Kong young woman

on the determinants of premarital sex revealed the guidance of parents is still effective in

avoiding such behaviour. They are showed that once a young women begins dating, her

chances of having premarital sex increases, more so when kissing has taken place.

Hall (2008) a renowned American psychologist, believed that the stage of

adolescence reflected a stage in the human evolutionary past when there was a great deal

of upheaval and disorder- with the result that adolescents experience a great deal of “storm

and stress” as a standard part of their development. According to Hall the time of storm

and stress is reflected through 2 types of difficulties: conflict with parents, and risk

behaviours. Conflict with parents can be explained by the fact that as a child grows into an

adolescent, he develops an autonomous behavior leading to the want of being independent.

As a result of this, adolescents approach different sources of information such as the media.

Depending on their rate of development, some adolescents may succumb to media

influences, while other may not.

Local
 Dela Cruz (2002) claimed that catholic high school students were less sexually

active and less likely to have engaged in premarital sex than public high school students.

In college, the religiously non fraternity male students were less likely to have sex than

fraternity students. Similarly, the religiously non-sorority female students were less likely

in engage in sex that sorority student. It is believed that peer pressure may have

overpowered the effects religious beliefs in the students.

In an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer by Singson, (2008) noted that statistics in

the Philippines show that each year, almost 1 million teenage women—10 percent of all

women aged 15-19 and 19 percent of those who have had sexual intercourse—become

pregnant and one-fourth of teenage mothers have a second child within two years of their

first.

While in the Philippines, based on the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality

Study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and the

Demographic Research and Development Foundation, 26 percent of Filipino youth

nationwide from ages 15 to 25 admitted to having a premarital sex experience. And 38

percent of the youth are already in a live-in arrangement.

Teenage pregnancy is not like any other issue there in the whole world although it

seems to be a common concern, it does not seem to bother people that much. Not until they

are personally affected by the issue or until they finally realized that it had been increasing

in number of affected people that it slowly reached an abnormal stage or the point that it

affected too many lives already and too many aspects of living.
 Fernandez (2001), who studied about minority adolescents, found that the number

of sexually active girlfriends was positively associated with permissive sexual attitudes,

intentions for future sexual activity and non-marital childbearing. Other risk behaviours

have an impact as well. When a teen’s friends are not attached to school, have poor grades,

abuse drugs or engage in delinquent behaviours, there is a greater likelihood that the teen

will become sexually active at an early age. It is interesting to note that it is not only the

actual behaviour of peers, but the assumption of certain behaviours by peers, that influence

adolescent sexual activity.

Initially, much of the research on the causes of adolescent sexual activity focused

on the individual level, the influence of the teens’ own physical and psychological

characteristics. More recently there has been growing interest in contextual variables,

aspects of the teens’ environments, such as the community and school. These studies have

consistently found that the community where teens live influences their sexual behaviour.

Adolescents who live in communities with more social disorganization and fewer

economic resources are more likely to engage in sex at an early age and become pregnant.

The level of education, unemployment rate and income level of the adults in the community

are all associated with the sexual behaviour of teens. (Cessane, 2010)

People might say that the pregnancy of these teenagers is just the mere result of the

gratification of sexual urges. That pregnancy would not occur if studies had been

prioritized instead of the relationship of the opposite sex. That if there were no premarital

sex (PMS), there would be no pregnancy. On one simple glance, people judge these

teenagers guilty. “Low Level of Religious Commitment” might pull the teenager to be

pregnant for the teenagers prioritized already their relationship of the opposite sex rather
than abiding the catholic and other religions thrusts to “no premarital sex”. Teenagers who

are busy at church usually listen the advices and warning of parents as the churches thrust

“obey your parents”, which lead the teenagers to be obedient and keep them not pregnant

at early age. (Cessane, 2010)

The National Youth Commission, supported by the Department of Health and the

World Health Organization, convened the 2014 National Summit on Teen Pregnancy last

April 24. This summit, which saw the active participation of adolescent youth, delivered a

clear message: Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), or the lack thereof, is

fast becoming the defining issue of this generation of young Filipinos. Without a robust

response from all stakeholders, the Philippines is on track toward a full-blown, national

teenage pregnancy crisis.

Staggering facts support this call for concern. Recent (2014) data from the

Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) reveal that every hour, 24 babies are delivered by

teenage mothers. According to the 2014 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS)

study, around 14 percent of Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 are either pregnant for the first time

or are already mothers—more than twice the rate recorded in 2002. Among six major

economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines has the highest

rate of teenage pregnancies and is the only country where the rate is increasing, per the

United Nations Population Fund.

According to Josefina Natividad, (2014), YAFS coordinator and director of the

University of the Philippines Population Institute, young Filipinos have limited access to

sex education and ASRH services, especially if they are underage and unmarried. Seventy-
eight percent are not using any form of contraception or protection against sexually

transmitted diseases and infections when they are having sex for the first time. While

government programs aim to delay the beginning of childbearing and hasten fertility

decline, teenage pregnancies continue to increase.

Data showed that pregnant teenagers in the Philippines are mostly 17 to 19 years

old. They live with their mothers, parents, or relatives. The father of the child is, in most

cases, a teenage boy. The reasons for becoming pregnant among teenagers include:

unplanned sexual encounters (“getting caught up in the moment”) and peer pressure; lack

of information on safe sex; breakdown of family life and lack of good female role models

in the family; and absence of accessible, adolescent-friendly clinics.

Teenagers from poor backgrounds are disproportionately represented among

pregnant teenagers. However, experts have argued that teenage pregnancy should be

understood as a symptom of dire economic conditions rather than a cause of it. Teenage

pregnancy perpetuates the cycle of poverty and inequality because most pregnant teenagers

have no source of income and face greater financial difficulties later in life. This is because

they drop out of school and are less likely to pursue further education or skills training.

Teenage mothers face critical health risks, including: inadequate nutrition during

pregnancy due to poor eating habits; dangers associated with the reproductive organs not

ready for birth; and maternal death due to higher risk of eclampsia, among others.

Alarmingly, while maternal deaths are decreasing in the Philippines, teenage maternal

deaths are increasing. Ten percent of pregnant teenagers died in the last year, according to
the PSA. Data from the WHO also show a high and increasing incidence of fetal death in

Filipino mothers under 20.

At the end of the teenage pregnancy summit, the participants strongly endorsed a

comprehensive sexual education curriculum; forging a “Batang Ina” social movement; and

establishing adolescent-friendly spaces. The enactment of the Responsible Parenthood and

Reproductive Health Act was also recognized as an important step to make ASRH services

more accessible to those in need.

As an international child rights organization, Plan International believes that the

rights and needs of adolescent girls and boys, including their right to access ASRH

services, must be ensured. In our work in the Philippines, ASRH continues to be a priority

in line with our global “Because I am a Girl” campaign and national Batang Lusog

program.

People are implementing ASRH interventions in Southern Leyte and Eastern

Samar, where cases of teenage pregnancy are increasing. Youth-Friendly Spaces are being

established to provide peer education and counseling on ASRH and rights. This is

complemented by our response to eliminate gender-based violence in communities by

establishing Women-Friendly Spaces. These measures help prevent teenage pregnancy by

disseminating the right information about the risks and impacts of teenage pregnancy on

the teen mom and the infant. An exploratory study by Plan International on the rising

incidence of teenage pregnancy in “Yolanda”-affected areas is also being designed.

In the face of numerous challenges that Filipino adolescents face every day—

discrimination, gender-based violence, harmful gender stereotypes—they must be

equipped with the life skills and assets to help them make the best decisions for themselves

and their community. When adolescents choose to have sex, they have a right to access not

just information but also inclusive ASRH services.

At the end of the day, when an adolescent, especially a girl, knows her rights, is

empowered to choose, and is heard, she can improve not only her life but also the life of

her immediate and future families. So, maybe it’s time to have this discussion with your

(grand) daughter or niece now?

The Philippines is classified by the World Bank as having a lower-middle-income

economy, thus the WHO survey extends to our country, and is reflective of what people

see happening here. This alarming rise in teenage pregnancy in Philippines may be

attributed to economic and educational factors.

The NSO survey results state that early initiation of sexual activity and early

pregnancy is often seen among women belonging to lower income households. It is also

more common among those with little or no formal education.

Others may also claim that societal factors and the media may also play a role in

the rise of teenage pregnancies. Journalist Teddy Locsin Jr. (2014) even blamed the rise of

teenage pregnancy on showbiz. He cited the prominence of sexual themes in television and

movies, day in and day out, and states this as the reason why the desire for physical

contact is ingrained into the minds of the youth. While people we can speculate on the

true reasons behind it, the reality is that teenage pregnancy in Philippines is becoming far

too common. Not only this, but the teenage moms are getting younger as well.
Conceptual Framework