The unmarried father revisited.
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This study examines the relationship between the age of unmarried fathers and their self-concept and anxiety level. A total of 24 unmarried fathers (12 adolescents and 12 adults) comprised the sample. No significant differences were found between adolescent and adult fathers on self-concept or anxiety level. Findings are discussed with regard to the current status of research on adolescent fathers.
The abortion law of England is set out and the recent case of C v S, which was an unsuccessful attempt to restrain an abortion by the unmarried father of the unborn child. Neither the father nor the unborn child has the locus standi to bring such an action. Legal personality and rights and duties with reference to the unborn child are investigated.
Adolescence, although not always necessarily a period of extreme stress, is a time of profound physical changes which increase the adolescent's awareness of and interest in sexual behavior. This issue of sexuality, which begins in early adolescence, creates new challenges to personal and gender identity formation as the person matures. Sexual maturation is a three-fold process, requiring growth in understanding of oneself as a sexual being, in the ability to handle interpersonal relationships effectively, and in the capacity to plan behavior in view of future outcomes and present problems. A current concern is that today's adolescents, including early adolescents, may be making important life choices such as parenthood before they are developmentally ready for such roles (Chilman, 1980). This paper deals with pregnancy in adolescents and modes of responding to this phenomenon by those in the counseling and other helping professions.
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The Sisterhood of Black Single Mothers Inc. (The Sisterhood) is an organization which exemplifies the considerable potential of community members united for a common good. The Sisterhood began eleven years ago under the leadership of Ms. Daphne Busby. The objective of the Sisterhood is "salvation of a generation subject to insensitivity and misunderstanding--through helping families, especially those headed by women and adolescent women--to establish a new and positive mind set." The Sisterhood regards individuals and social phenomenon as parts of a complex and dynamic whole and uses a positive approach to assessment of situations. Therefore, adolescents who come to the Sisterhood already parents, as well as those who may become parents in their formative years, are provided programming appropriate to their overall needs. They are given opportunities for help in such areas as: securing medical care, public assistance, counseling, housing and financial assistance. Outreach to other significant persons in the life of these adolescents includes intervention with the service providers with whom they come in contact (doctors, teachers, social workers etc.). In addition to addressing the practical needs of adolescents who come to the Sisterhood, positive examples of healthy ways of relating to others and presentation of a system of values consonant with self and family development are provided. Examples are: the Youth Awareness Project (YAP) which deals with concerns of young people as a specific group. The program's focus is bringing young people together who are growing in positive ways and encouraging continuation of that growth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The influence of teenage mothers' perceptions of family and partner social support on their postpartum adjustment was examined in this study. A structured interview with teenage mothers was conducted prenatally and a follow-up assessment was done when their children were 8 months of age. Both partner and family support were related to greater satisfaction with life, but each was associated in a different way with parenting and concerns about daily living. The results indicate the importance of distinguishing between specific sources of social support and different aspects of adjustment to teen parenthood.
This study examines unwanted adolescent pregnancy and early childbearing within the context of the family system. Fifty pregnant adolescents and their families were interviewed prenatally and again during the postpartum period. Utilizing the concepts of structural family theory and therapy as described by Minuchin, certain characteristics of family style and structure of organization were rated. These family variables were then related to aspects of the adolescent mother's adaptation postpartum. Boundaries, in terms of degree of intrusiveness and differentiation, were related to such variables as whether the adolescent is maintained in the household and to her continuing relationship with the baby's father. Similarly, the family's style of dealing with conflict was related to the relationship between the adolescent parents, among other outcome variables. Implications of the findings both for working with these families and for further research are discussed, and issues are raised about hypothesized relationships between independent and dependent variables which were not borne out.
A survey of a representative sample of 5508 births in France in 1981 permitted the study of social characteristics of pregnant women, the medical care they received during their pregnancy and their pregnancy outcome, as a function of their marital status and whether or not they lived with the father of the child. Unmarried women living with the father (n = 412) like unmarried women living alone (n = 171), were more often younger, having their first baby and had a lower educational level than did married women living with the father (n = 4590). However, among the unmarried women, those living alone were in a more unfavourable position than those living with the father; in particular, they were more often less than 20 years old, had the minimum educational level required and were unemployed. Both groups of unmarried women had a higher preterm delivery rate than did married women, even after taking other risk factors into account in a logistic regression. The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for pre-term delivery among unmarried mothers living without the father was 1.9 (1.0-3.4) and that for the unmarried cohabiting with the father was 1.6 (1.0-2.4). Thus, to fully appreciate the perinatal risks and medical needs during pregnancy, both the marital and cohabitational status of the women should be considered.
This article presents preliminary data on suggestions for reaching Anglo, black, and Hispanic unmarried adolescent fathers. Results reveal that reaching out to these young fathers may be complicated because their needs vary within and across their culture. The data suggest that these fathers need diverse information, practical help, and counseling.
A group of detained pregnant adolescents and expectant teenage fathers served as participants in a qualitative research project designed to describe how adolescents residing in a large metropolitan area juvenile detention facility make health- and pregnancy-related decisions. During the course of the study and clinical work with this population, it was found that although troubled and troublesome, these teenagers do not present as bleak and depressing a picture as might appear on the surface. Three primary themes emerged from the study findings: responsibility, reputation, and respect. These themes were bound to the important relationships in the teenagers' lives. The participants also presented some surprising strengths and resolutions for the future that psychiatric and liaison nurses working in the setting can use in program planning and clinical interventions.
The Teen Father Collaboration, a two-year national research and demonstration project launched in 1983, was designed to determine the most effective ways to assist teenage fathers in contributing to their children's social, emotional and financial well-being. Eight social service agencies from around the country provided nearly 400 young fathers and prospective fathers--most 17 or 18 years of age--with a variety of services, including counseling, educational assistance and job training. Many young fathers wanted to contribute financially to their children's upbringing but had only a limited ability to do so because they were unemployed or needed job training. By the end of the project, 56 previously unemployed participants had taken part-time jobs, and 92 participants had found full-time employment; nearly half of the non-graduates who were not enrolled in school when they entered the program had returned to school, had obtained their GEDs or had enrolled in GED classes by the time the Collaboration ended. An aggressive approach to recruitment and a good knowledge of the community were considered to have been crucial to the success of the programs: Staff members had to be able to go into the community and reach young men on a one-to-one basis. The experiences of the agencies indicate that a man in his 20s or 30s from the same ethnic and cultural background as the teen-age clients usually succeeded best as a counselor. The study also shows that ambivalence on the part of a cooperating agency was probably the most important factor hindering the efforts of the Collaboration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adolescent fathers and nonfathers were compared as to their belief in a sense of personal control and responsibility for their own lives (locus of control); ability to optimistically trust others (interpersonal trust); taking an active orientation to life's demands and problems (coping style); and family/generational pattern of unwed parenthood. Participants were 24 unwed adolescent fathers and 27 unwed adolescent nonfathers, aged 15-19 years. Each participant completed a questionnaire containing a Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale, the Behavioral Attributes of Psychosocial Competence, and a scale measuring family pattern of unwed parenthood. Results suggest that adolescent fathers are usually older, more likely to have been born out-of-wedlock, and less trusting than nonfathers. The implications for casework with adolescent fathers are discussed.
This study assesses the impact of a prenatal education program dealing with human sexuality, pregnancy, prenatal care, labor, delivery, and infant and child care on the unwed expectant adolescent father. It also assesses the relationship between the father's knowledge in these areas and his supportive behaviors toward the adolescent mother and the expected infant. The 28 black 15-18-year-old adolescent males who volunteered to participate in the study were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 13). Each was pretested (T-1) with Form A of a 75-item prenatal questionnaire, and posttested (T-2) with Form B of the same instrument after an intervention for the experimental group, or 4 weeks after the initial assessment for the comparison group. Findings suggest significant gains in knowledge for the experimental group at T-2 versus T-1 with regard to 1) pregnancy and prenatal care, and 2) infant development and child care. The data also suggest that fathers who were more informed tended to report more supportive behaviors toward the mother and the infant.
Two hundred thirty-one inner city black teenagers, aged 14-17, were followed for two years to assess whether (1) their decision to deliver or abort a pregnancy differed from their perceptions of their mothers' attitudes about having a child or aborting a pregnancy, (2) satisfaction with the decision differed between the abortion and delivery groups, and (3) satisfaction with the decision was affected by who made the decision. Eight-one percent chose the pregnancy outcome that their mothers supported. Those who did decide without their mothers' support (19%) were divided equally between abortion and continuing the pregnancy. The majority in both groups were satisfied with the outcome decision, but initially more deliverers than aborters were satisfied. Satisfaction initially was related to who made the decision, but by the one-year follow-up the difference was no longer significant. Young teens do not seem likely to make a decision about pregnancy outcome that differs from their mothers' views; initial differences in satisfaction with the decision disappear over a one- to two-year period.
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