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Brief Report: Perceptions of Positive and Negative Support: Do They Differ for Pregnant/Parenting Adolescents and Nonpregnant, Nonparenting Adolescents?

NCJ Number
219008
Journal
Journal of Adolescence Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2007 Pages: 505-512
Author(s)
Sedahlia Jasper Crase; Cathy Hockaday; Pamela Cooper McCarville
Date Published
June 2007
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined perceptions of type, source, and amount of social support reported by pregnant and/or parenting (PP) adolescents and nonpregnant, nonparenting (NPNP) adolescents.
Abstract
The findings indicate that PP and NPNP adolescents do not have appreciably different perceptions of their social support, and neither group perceived its current support as greater than 2 years ago. The few differences in the support systems of the two groups mostly favored NPNP adolescents as having more social support. Both groups reported that boyfriends, mothers, and best friends were the core of their social networks, followed by sisters, fathers, grandparents, brothers, and teachers, respectively. Best friends and sisters were significantly more supportive to NPNP than to PP adolescents. They were also more supportive for three of the seven individual support types, i.e., sharing private feelings, advice, and social participation. Both groups relied more on boyfriends and best friends than other support sources for most support types. Pregnant adolescents (n=29) and/or parenting adolescents (n=48) were located through traditional schools, alternative schools, and community programs. Nonpregnant, nonparenting adolescents (n=77) were found in traditional schools. The two groups were similar on most demographic characteristics; however, more NPNP than PP adolescents were White (96 percent compared with 75 percent) and single (99 percent compared with 88 percent). Both groups completed the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors, which assesses types of support people showed to help them in the last month, and the Arizona Social Support Interview Schedule, which assesses types, sources, and amount of support. 2 tables and 17 references