Young Men’s Perceptions of Teenage Pregnancy

Authors

Oluwatoyin Adewole, University of PhoenixFollow
Oluwaseun M. Otubanjo, Texas A & M University - CommerceFollow

Abstract

The purpose of the qualitative study was to understand the perceptions and experiences of young men who lived in a county of Texas regarding teenage pregnancy. Face-to-face audio-taped interviews were conducted with 20 young men between ages 18 and 21. Five major themes and one subtheme were uncovered from the interview: unplanned pregnancy/attitude to unprotected sex, being a father at an early age, wanting sex education in the school curriculum, advice for other young men, and desiring parent’s role in sex education. The sub-theme was early childhood education to start at home. The findings of this study demonstrate that young men, like young women, have concerns about teenage pregnancy, contraceptive use, sex education, parent roles, media, and peer influence on teenagers’ sexual decision making. Knowledge about men’s developmental stages could mean a better understanding of young men’s behavior, attitude, and perception about teenage pregnancy. Involving young men in pregnancy prevention programs could improve understanding of the social psychology of men’s development stages and perceive their sexual relationships.

Keywords

Contraceptives, Perception, Sex, Teenage Pregnancy, Qualitative Method

Author Bio(s)

Oluwatoyin Adewole is currently a Child Protective Specialist with Tarrant County. She graduated with her PhD in Educational Leadership/Curriculum and Instructions from the University of Phoenix. Please direct correspondence to Toyinadewole@aol.com.

Oluwaseun Otubanjo is a PhD candidate and graduate research assistant in the Psychology and Special Education Department at Texas A & M, Commerce University. His research interests focus on egocentric biases and issues that affect underrepresented populations. Please direct correspondence to ootubanjo@leomail.tamuc.edu.

Publication Date

9-18-2020

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4367

Recommended APA Citation

Adewole, O., & Otubanjo, O. M. (2020). Young Men’s Perceptions of Teenage Pregnancy. The Qualitative Report, 25(9), 3367-3380. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4367