Introduction 

The issue of teenage pregnancy has been a significant issue in many nations across the

world. The term teenage pregnancy here refers to a situation whereby a woman of less than

nineteen years gets pregnant. In a bid to solve the problem, it is crucial to understand the major

causes of this societal scourge. Some parties argue that teenage pregnancy is caused by a lack of

parental guidance and support, but the problem goes deeper than that. A myriad of issues cause

teenage pregnancy and lack of parental supervision and support is just one of them.

There is a significant lack of enough sex education among teenagers in the United States.

That is, teenagers are not taught about the importance of using contraceptives or avoiding

engaging in pre-marital sex. Most of the times, the people responsible for educating the young

adults on the importance of participating in responsible sexual activities brush off the idea due to

the notion that we are living in a new age of technology. Their argument is that due to the ready

availability of the Internet, teenagers can seek this information on their own (Finer & Zolna,

2014). However, this is not usually the case and the result is often early teenage pregnancies.

The growth and availability of the Internet does more harm than good to teenagers. The

Internet is filled with a lot of information and content that can provoke teenagers to engage in

sexual activity. Usually, parents may fail to monitor their children’s Internet usage. In the

process, teenagers might use it to meet sex partners who prey on young children. Therefore,

parents have largely failed in their duty to ensure that their teenagers use the Internet for

appropriate purposes and this has significantly contributed to teenage pregnancies.

Further, there has been an increase in pornography consumption in the United States. The

advantages of the Internet to many Americans cannot be ignored, ranging from easy accessibility

to news, sports, videos, and advertisements to being a great source of entertainment. However,

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the same Internet has given rise to a detrimental yet widely desired product in the form of

pornography. According to studies, the consumption of pornography in the U.S. has risen in the

last few years making it appear as an acceptable leisure activity (Price, Patterson, Regnerus, &

Walley, 2016). The problem arises when pornographic content gets into the wrong hands, such

as to teenagers, who might not have the ability to make informed decisions on the topic.

On another note, negative attitude of health staff makes it difficult for teenagers to access

contraceptives. In the current age, it is difficult to prevent teenagers from accessing sexual

content on the Internet or through other channels. Therefore, most of them are sensitized on the

importance of using contraceptives. However, there is a common perception among many health

care professionals that contraceptives are meant for people within a particular age bracket (Viner,

2013). In the process, teenagers who try to access the drugs are met with an unwelcoming and

negative attitude. The result, yet again, is an increase in teenage pregnancies.

Peer pressure has also played a role in the increase in teenage pregnancies across the U.S.

The victims of peer pressure often face pressure to make friends and become similar to their

peers. Sometimes, a teenager may be influenced to engage in sexual activity even when they do

not understand the consequences of the act. Usually, a group of teenagers may make it seem that

engaging in sexual activity is cool and sophisticated (Viner, 2013). Therefore, a majority of

teenagers in the country participate in sexual activity even when they do not understand the

consequences of their actions to please friends, often ending up with teenage pregnancies.

Another factor responsible for teenage pregnancy is low self-esteem and low self-image

perception. The aspect of low self-esteem and peer pressure are interconnected. That is, a young

boy or girl suffering from low self-esteem gets into a group that makes them feel confident about

themselves. However, members of the group may influence the boy or girl to engage in sexual

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activity with one of the group members to be accepted into the group (Cherry & Dillon, 2014).

Due to a desire to belong in a group and hide the aspect of having low self-esteem, the concerned

teenager may decide to engage in sexual activity and probably end up becoming pregnant.

Poor parenting is another major cause of teenage pregnancy. In the modern times, parents

are so engaged in money-making activities that they forget to offer moral guidance and support

to their children. Teachers and others have also failed, but the fact that sex education begins at

home has been tremendously ignored. This situation makes most children to turn to their peers

for sexual activity lessons. The information offered is often biased and malicious since they all

suffer from a lack of sex education (Cherry & Dillon, 2014). Consequently, many children end

up pregnant.

It is further revealed by research that some adolescent girls choose to intentionally

become pregnant because they have lost hope in other life goals. Such girls do not have any

realistic career or education expectations given that they are victims of low self-esteem and poor

school performance. They thus consider getting pregnant as an alternative route to acquiring

adult status and gaining economic independence. Usually, an adolescent female who becomes

pregnant is already having academic challenges at school and does not have much educational

expectations. They are neither confident they will complete their secondary education

(Domenico & Jones, 2007). Some also become mothers so as to escape abusive situations at

home.

1.1. Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to document the information about the

reasons of teenager in engaging early pregnancy and relative experiences they encountered.

Specifically, it aimed to answer the following research questions:

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  What are the lived experiences of the secondary students regarding early pregnancy?

 What coping mechanisms do pregnant students use to address problems on pregnancy?

 What are the realizations of the pregnant students learned?

1.2. Theoretical Lens

Furthermore, the social cognitive theory would support this study. Social cognitive theory

emphasizes behavior, environment, and cognition as the key factors in development. The social

cognitive model is concerned with ways in which mental representations of social events,

societal, and cultural norms, and personal characteristics influence behavior, reasoning, emotion,

and motivation. Specifically, the approach addresses acknowledgment, self and social goals,

mental representations of self and others, and the role of social facilitation in decision-making,

memory, and judgment. Social cognitive theory, complex cognitive functioning involved in

coping, everyday problem-solving, and decision-making in health as well as in social situations

depends on basic cognitive methods. Furthermore, it depends on the organization of existing

knowledge structures and socially-derived emotional and motivational influences on

performance. This theoretical perspective would predict that adolescents learn sexual behaviors

and their likely consequences by watching television. To the extent that adolescents acquire

favorable beliefs about sex and confidence in their own sexual abilities as a result of viewing

sexual content on television, they become more likely to attempt the modeled behaviors. In this

study, other contributing factors could be also explored. Furthermore, the social-cognitive

analysis of pregnancy prevention would stress the importance of information concerning sexual

activities, skills for managing behavior in relation to reducing pregnancy risk, feelings of self-

efficacy in relation to pregnancy prevention, and social influence factors as determinants of

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pregnancy preventive behavior. Hence, this study would suggest better preventive ideas based

on deeper understanding about early pregnant students. Self-efficacy is a frequently cited

construct in social cognitive theory. Bandura’s social cognitive theory assumes self-efficacy and

outcome expectancies (related to situation and action) are central determinants of behavior.

According to Bandura, self-efficacy is confidence in one’s own ability to carry out a particular

behavior. In the present context, self-efficacy theory predicts that pregnancy- and STD

prevention behaviors will be performed if the individual perceives they have control over the

outcome, there are few external barriers, and they have confidence in their own ability to carry

out the behaviors. In this context the theory of planned behavior would apply in the present

investigation as an extension of the theory of reasoned action. The theory of reasoned action

proposes that an individual’s sexual preventive behavior is a function of the individual’s

behavioral intention to perform a particular act. Behavioral intentions, in turn, are assumed to be

a function of three factors. These include a person's attitude toward performance of a particular

preventive behavior, the individual’s subjective perception of what significant others wish the

individual to do with respect to the behavior in question, or both.

1.3. Delimitations and Limitations of the Study

International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR) (2017) Volume

36, No 2, pp 145-170 148. This qualitative research is delimited only to the identified teenage

pregnant knew by the researcher in province of Agusan del Norte, Philippines. These participants

experienced early pregnancy at the age bracket of 16-19 years old. One of the weaknesses of my

study, however, was that it utilized the qualitative method, which means that the results may lack

generalizability. Another weakness was the small number of informants of the study. Despite

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safeguards as to the trustworthiness and credibility of the statements of the informants, their

small number contributed to the probability that the statements of the informants may not be

truly representative of the total population of the students who got pregnant in the entire province

of Agusan del Norte, Philippines.

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II. Methodology

This qualitative inquiry used a multiple case study in order to have in-depth information

about the informants. Case study research involves the study of a case within real-life,

contemporary context or setting. This type of qualitative study has various advantages which

made the inquirer chose this design. A qualitative case study can be composed to illustrate a

unique case that is unusual interest in and of itself and needs to be described and detailed. A

hallmark of this design is that it presents an in-depth understanding of the case. In order to

accomplish this, the researcher collected the data from comprehensive interviews, observations,

documents and audiovisual materials. One source of information is not enough; hence, the

inquirer selected five informants who were pregnant. According to Maxwell, emphasized that

triangulation is considered as one of the most important features of case study and I find it

appropriate in my study because I want to have a cross-case analysis of the five cases. He

defined that triangulation is consist of collecting data through different methods or even different

kind of data for the same phenomenon. Purposive sampling technique was used in identifying the

informants of this research because it would be easier for me to get adapted with the current

dilemma as the chosen informants are not very far from each other and Creswell also suggested

that sampling technique is appropriate for qualitative multiple case studies. My main role as the

researcher of this study was being sensitive to the varied opinions, ideas, and interpretations of

the shared experiences of the research informants. It meant that I must have acute awareness of

the subtleties of the meaning of the data that I was able to collect. Accordingly, Maxwell said

that in qualitative research, the investigator is viewed as the instrument. The primary data for this

multiple case study is in-depth interviews that took place in the setting where the participants

were convenient with. As the primary investigator, I personally gathered the data the informants

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through phone call since we are facing the pandemic. The research informants were pregnant in

the age bracket of 16-19 years old. These participants situated in the province of Agusan del

Norte where at present pregnant. All participants shared her experiences about pregnancy, her

treatment received, emotional struggles, and realizations about life after what had happened. To

gather sufficient data for this study, I used in-depth Interview which was supplemented with

clear descriptions and comprehensive narrations of every aspect of the entire data collection

process. According to Maxwell, qualitative studies rely on the integration of data from various

sources of information of from variety of methods, a generally known as triangulation. This

strategy reduces the risk that conclusions would reflect only to the biases or limitations of a

specific method. This also provided me a better understanding and more valid information

generated from directly from the data gathered. Triangulation was a marker for validity in

qualitative research. While validity in qualitative research could not be defined or prescribed in

advance of data collection, it must be attended to constantly as the study emerges through the

intentionality of the research. Before the collection of data was started, I made an interview

guide with questions which are within the parameters of my research study. This guide was

validated by experts to ensure viability of expected output which I downloaded in the internet.

2.1. Data Analysis

Appropriate qualitative descriptions were used in order to have a comprehensive analysis

of data. The data gathered from the informants were properly transcribed. The researcher used

triangulation in order to document a code or a theme from different sources of data and valid

findings were provided. Any qualitative data reduction and sense-making effort that takes a

volume of qualitative material and attempts to identify core consistencies and meanings. This

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study made use of thematic analysis in analyzing collected data. Boyatzis, R. E. (1998) describes

thematic analysis as a process of encoding qualitative information in a form of codes, words or

phrases that serve as labels for sections of data. He explained that this set of codes may be a list

of themes, a complex model with themes, indicators and qualifications that are causally related;

or something in between these two forms. After the interview with the participants I transcribed

and translated the data with the help of someone who was an expert in translation. The translated

data were sent to data analyst for proper coding of themes and subthemes and finding the word

frequencies. But it had its limitation in identifying patterns; so, as a researcher it was my

responsibility to identify more specific themes or codes known as “nodes” and for analyzing and

drawing conclusions. A separate within-case analysis was made for each case followed by cross-

case analysis. Each one of the within-case analyses was given detail and rich descriptions of the

case. In the cross-case analysis, the research questions were addressed by using all the data that

were gathered from all the case studies and were summarized into International Journal of

Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR) (2017) Volume 36, No 2, pp 145-170 150

major themes or core ideas. The presentation of the major themes and the core ideas was

patterned after the study of Amparo, R. (2011) making use of three classifications: general

(which means 50 percent of the participants mention the item) and typical(which means only 25

percent to 49 percent of the participants mentioned the item). Variant means the data is unique to

a particular case or two.

2.2. Trustworthiness and Credibility

Credibility was highly considered in this study. Credibility as confidence in the ‘truth’ of

the findings through prolonged engagement, persistent observation, triangulation, peer debriefing

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and member-checking. Member-checking involved informants to approve the findings as the

primary criterion. Besides, informants were asked to carefully examine the description for

potential clarifications, corrections, additions or omissions. In addition, any deletions or

revisions during the member-checking would give researchers credibility because informants

might have addressed in the data analysis that might disagree with before publication and would

offer their own interpretation or conclusion. With peer debriefing, it involved soliciting a peer’s

feedback regarding the data analysis. It stressed that peer debriefing is necessary in order to

provide feedback as well as to decrease the risk of the researcher’s beliefs contaminating the

data. Transferability or external validity, on the other hand, as the ability of the research results

to transfer to situations with similar parameters, populations and characteristics was achieved

through the two considered issues – the extent to which situation is generalized and the

informants as a whole. From a qualitative perspective, transferability is primarily the

responsibility of the one doing the generalizing. Furthermore, dependability of this qualitative

study was taken into consideration. Dependability means showing that the findings are consistent

and could be repeated. Reliability is dependent upon validity; therefore, many qualitative

researchers believe that if credibility has been demonstrated, it is not necessary to also and

separately demonstrate dependability. This present study adhered the principles of

confirmability in establishing trustworthiness of qualitative research. Confirmability as a degree

of neutrality or the extent to which the findings of a study are shaped by the respondents and not

researcher bias, motivation, or interest. Correspondingly, prompt and conductive verification of

the information given by the participants to ensure trustworthiness and accuracy during the data

collection. After the transcriptions were done, I gave a copy to the informants to check on the

accuracy of the statements. The informants signified that their experiences or stories were

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accurately recorded ensuring authenticity at all times. It was also specified in the interview

protocol that participants signed before the gathering of data.

III. Results and Conclusion

Results

At the outset, this chapter introduced the key findings of my research study using

qualitative design utilizing multiple case study approach to explore the teenage pregnancy. After

discussions were presented, I provided valuable implications for practice, implications for future

research and concluding remarks for consideration of the beneficiaries and recipients of the

results of my study. The pregnant teenagers participated in this qualitative study were Faith,

Charity, Love, Hope and Precious. Informants in my study were coming from Province of

Agusan del Norte with age ranges from 16-19 years old and they were considered from below

average income family. It could be gleaned from the narratives of the participants that Faith was

pregnant at age of 19 with boyfriend who is a bystander. While Precious is the youngest who got

pregnant at the age of 16 by a bystander also. Charity is 18 years old who got pregnant by a guy

who is a construction worker where she studied. Likewise, Love is 17 years old impregnated by

her boyfriend who is a tricycle driver in the community where they lived. A young lady Hope

who is also 16 years a top performing student in the class in terms of academics was impregnated

by her classmate.

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Conclusion

Teenage pregnancy is a multifaceted issue that involve so many factors. As a teacher,

understanding these teenagers as they try hard on making their decisions regarding sexuality and

parenthood involves, keep in touch with their perceptions of themselves and their assessments of

the opportunities that waiting them. Writing this epitaph to contribute to the body of knowledge,

I recognize I had considered too much about humanitarianism and fostering a healthy education

to my students with much consideration to pregnant teenager, my valuable client who needs most

the premium of my understanding. A teacher most concern is how to help the students to realize

their maximum potentials, talents and skills but not to judge if they are right or wrong. I need to

learn and practice more on believing in the students’ ability to solve the problem and respect

their choice. I will not pass judgment on the students who are confronting difficult decisions,

they are doing the best they can. Teenagers perceive teenage pregnancy as something which is

unintended. They associate it with individual characteristics such as knowledge, maturity, skill,

and age at first intercourse. Misconceptions about sex and contraceptives are still evident in most

teenagers.Teenage pregnancy poses significant social and health problems in the society and has

implications for all teaching professionals. Given the complexity of problem, teaching

professionals working with teenagers may develop a wide range of practical and interpersonal

skills.

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