Parental marital status and peer influence as corelates of teenage pregnancy among female teens in south-south Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the effects of parental marital status and peer influence on the occurrence of teenage pregnancy among 324 female teens in south-south, Nigeria. The participants responded to a valid scale. The Pearson correlation and Multiple Regression procedures were used to investigate the predictive capacity of the independent variables on the dependent variables. The result indicated that the two independent variables, when taken together and individually were effective in predicting teenage pregnancy among female teens. Single parents were seen to be more associated with teenage pregnancy than intact parents. On the basis of these findings it was suggested that in addition to providing sound sex education, parents should ensure appropriate supervision of the activities of their children particularly the female child and the kind of peer associations they keep and that the government should set up social service agencies to enable them assist single parents and their children particularly the female child to attain proper development.

Keywords: Parental marital status (single vs intact parents), Peer Influence, Teenage Pregnancy.