Adolescent pregnancy and sex roles

Traditional sex roles are related to the occurrence of adolescent pregnancy in this study. Sex-role orientation and related variables were measured by a questionnaire administered to 161 young women aged 13 to 18 years when they sought pregnancy tests or birth control information at one of several clinics. The hypothesis of the study, that adolescents who get pregnant are more likely than other sexually active young women to be traditional in sex-role orientation, receives some support from the findings. Pregnant adolescents, in comparison with birth control seeking adolescents, perceive themselves to be competent in more highly sex-typed activities, have lower aspirations and school grades, and have less sense of personal control over events in their lives. Pregnant teens do not seem to differ much from birth control seeking teens in sex-role values, and seem less likely to aspire to traditionally female occupations. Socioeconomic status (SES) is the strongest discriminator between pregnant teens and birth control seeking teens, with pregnant teens having lower SES. Pregnant adolescents, in comparison with those experiencing negative pregnancy tests, are younger and are more likely to rely on God to determine the course of their personal lives.Preliminary drafts of this article were prepared for the NSF-sponsored Chautauqua short course entitled The Psychology of the Female Experience, taught by Sharon Lord in 1980–1981, and the Pacific Sociological Association's Annual Meetings, Portland, Oregon, March 1981. The research upon which this article is based was partially supported by the Atkinson Research Fund, Willamette University. The author gratefully acknowledges the insightful comments of Chautauqua participants and staff members of the cooperating agencies.