Family Status and Teenage Pregnancy in Rural Communities of Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy is one of the prevailing social problems of our societies in this contemporary period. The term in everyday speech usually refers to young girls who have not reached legal adulthood becoming pregnant. The study assessed the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in rural communities of Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Objectively, the study investigated the relationship between family status and teenage pregnancy specifically as it relates to parental background in the study area. The study also investigated the general causes, effects and the way out of this social menace in our societies. The study selected 5 medical centres and 100 respondents for the study. The study which was conducted in Uruan Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State employed the social control theory as the theoretical framework and the findings thematically analysed and identified family status like literacy level of the parent, income, poverty, media and peer as the primary influence of teenage pregnancy while the effects include: school drop-out, inadequate care for the child born by teenage mothers, health problems, poverty cycle deviance and a host of other vices. The study suggested adequate parental care, eradication of street hawking and inculcation of moral values through religious bodies, improved incentives to boost the socio-economic status of families and rural development as ways of reducing teenage pregnancy in Nigeria.