Thesis
Social transformation and its effect on teenage pregnancy in Mpumalanga, South Africa
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
12/2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000003973
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/124930
Abstract
South Africa has undergone a massive social, cultural, political, and economic change since transitioning to a democratic government in 1994. Educational and economic opportunities have vastly increased with the political transition. However, rates of teenage pregnancy remain high. In South Africa about 30% of women will have their first child before the age of 19 despite the social and economic hardships that early pregnancy creates. Why have high rates of early pregnancy persisted despite the increase in opportunities? The researcher took an approach that focused on generational differences in views on sex and related behaviors, looking at how changing social patterns affected people's outlooks. This mixed methods approach used qualitative and quantitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews and surveys. The analysis revealed that adolescents have two social paths to achieving adult status: having sex (along with creating a child) or completing their education and becoming financially independent. All generations viewed sex as an adult act. Older generations took this to mean that sex should not be engaged in until the person had achieved other aspects of adult status, namely financial independence. The youngest generation, however, often used sex to assert their status as an adult among their peers. This was particularly true for adolescent boys, as making a child meant that they were a man.
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Details
- Title
- Social transformation and its effect on teenage pregnancy in Mpumalanga, South Africa
- Creators
- Rachel Catheryn Anady
- Contributors
- Marsha Bogar Quinlan (Advisor) - Washington State University, Department of Anthropology
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Anthropology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Identifiers
- 99900890803501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis