Negotiating the Meanings of Adolescent Motherhood Through the Medium of Identity Collages

Abstract

(from the chapter) Minority, low-income populations are typically the focus of teen pregnancy research, perhaps because demographic research finds significantly elevated risk for teen pregnancy among African American and Hispanic populations compared to white populations. Our goal for this project, however, is somewhat different. Rather than working to expose additional correlates of teen pregnancy and parenting, we engage a narrative perspective for the purpose of illuminating how low-income teenage mothers negotiate the meanings of motherhood within the vast complexities of their lives—their values, ideals, and goals for the future. We set out with the explicit aim of both acknowledging and seeking the complexity of the identities of adolescents living in poverty—a complexity often overlooked in both public opinion about teen mothers, as well as in teen pregnancy research. We begin by providing an overview of the Art Project within the context of the theoretical traditions that inspire our approach. We then describe the results of our method—the stories we composed of how each young woman negotiates the meaning of her experiences as an adolescent mother. Finally, we identify two specific areas—sex and marriage—that seem particularly revealing of the young women's struggle to navigate between their personal experiences and desires, and normative cultural scripts regarding expectable behavior and goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)