Following the UK Medical Research Council's (MRC) guidelines for the development and evaluation of complex interventions, this study aimed to design, develop and optimise an educational intervention about young men and unintended teenage pregnancy based around an interactive film. The process involved identification of the relevant evidence base, development of a theoretical understanding of th...

It is clear that a variable number of teenage mothers have, to some extent, planned parenthood. From an evolutionary perspective, it could be argued that teenage childbearing may in fact be a positive adaptive mechanism for humans raised in a hostile environment. Life history theory suggests that in risky and uncertain environments the optimal reproductive strategy is to reproduce early in orde...

Out of 100 teenage girls attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic for the first time, 77 were found to be using a reliable method of contraception and had similar characteristics to teenage girls attending a family planning clinic. The 23 girls not using any reliable contraception exhibited a different pattern of sexual behaviour and were at high risk of unplanned pregnancy. Subsequently...

The aim of this Portuguese study is to compare the experience of pregnancy in teenage years and later adulthood and to examine insecure attachment style as a risk factor for depression during pregnancy. The Attachment Style Interview (ASI) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were administered to 66 pregnant adolescents and 64 adult women. Pregnant teenagers were found to be near...

ings. Few studies have sought information on young men’s attitudes about parenting and sexual behavior.5 While previous research has shown that young men living in areas with substandard social and economic resources are more likely than those from more advantaged backgrounds to say that they have fathered a child or that their partner has been pregnant,6 there are also young men in low-income ...

BACKGROUND Adolescent pregnancy exposes female adolescents to medical, social and economic risks. In Ghana, adolescent mothers are more likely to experience complications during pregnancy and delivery as compared to older mothers. This study examined the competencies of adolescent girls to either proactively prevent teenage pregnancy or reactively cope effectively with it. METHODS A cross-sec...

BACKGROUND Pregnancy in adolescence is associated with an excess risk of poor outcomes, including low birth weight and prematurity. Whether this association simply reflects the deleterious sociodemographic environment of most pregnant teenagers or whether biologic immaturity is also causally implicated is not known. METHODS To determine whether a young age confers an intrinsic risk of adverse...

BACKGROUND In 1999, the UK Labour Government launched a 10-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy for England to address the country's historically high rates and reduce social exclusion. The goal was to halve the under-18 conception rate. This study explores how the strategy was designed and implemented, and the features that contributed to its success. METHODS This study was informed by examinatio...