Giving voice to childbearing teens: views on sexuality and the reality of being a young parent

Abstract

Interpretive phenomenology was the qualitative research approach used to explore the lived experience of teenage mothers in regard to their sexuality and associated development, decision making, relationships, and hopes for the future. Several interviews were conducted with each of nine low-income, African-American teen mothers over the course of several months. This paper presents narrative exemplars from the lives of these teenage mothers gathered during interviews in the school nurse's office. Exemplars were: Sand Castles: the unreliability of support systems; Tough Boys, Soft Hearts: feeling less powerless with a strong male; Erosion of Trust: the deterioration of trusted kin networks; and Staying the Course: the intergenerational nature of adolescent pregnancy. Intervention and prevention implications for school nurses and other school professionals are suggested based on the findings.