High Risk Pregnancies: Teenagers, Poverty, and Drug Abuse

Abstract

The real problem is not teenage pregnancy alone, but the destructive combination of single motherhood, poverty, and drug abuse. The consequences of being a poor, inner-city, single mother with an expensive drug habit may include prostitution, drug dealing, dependency upon welfare and/or extra support from an already overwhelmed family system, and neglected children. Almost inevitably, the children exhibit cognitive deficits and behavioral problems, may turn to drugs at a young age, and may have an early involvement with the criminal justice system. To design effective prevention programs it is essential to understand the myriad complex risk factors that affect the lives of these vulnerable young women. As the first stage in a larger study of motivation and readiness for change and the development of self-protective health practices, interview data were collected from 30 participants. Sixteen were residents and staff who had graduated from a drug treatment program and 14 were undergraduate and graduate students, all of whom had been pregnant as teenagers. The results yielded a surprising commonality of experiences for both groups that included childhood physical and sexual abuse, coercive adolescent sexual relationships, early first sexual contact, early first pregnancies (often as a function of rape or incest), abortions, and chemical dependency, especially during pregnancy.

Adolescent Females with a Substance Use Disorder: Affiliations with Adult Male Sexual Partners

“…The data suggest that from a prevention perspective, interventions directed at enhancing child rearing practices, communication skills, and involvement in childrens' needs and activities might result in improved parent‐child attachments that are believed to attenuate young womens' propensities to become involved in antisocial behavior and affiliate with adult sexual partners. Furthermore, helping adolescent females adjust to an early sexual maturation, 66 educating them about the risks of pregnancy following unprotected sexual intercourse, 67,68 and teaching them to interact with members of the opposite sex may enhance their skills to select non‐deviant and emotionally‐supportive sexual partners that may offset the risks imposed by an early physical maturation.…”

Pregnancy in a Brotherhood bin: Housing and drug-treatment options for pregnant young women

“…2000). In other words, pregnancy motivates many young drug dependent women to manage their chemical dependence (Waters et al. 1997: pp.…”

Moving Forward From September 11: A Stress/Crisis/Trauma Response Model

“…There was a time, for example, when the common wisdom with respect to addictions services was that the client/patient had to hit "rock bottom" before treatment could be effective. Recent research, however, indicates that the sooner an addict is admitted to a program, the better the prognosis for recovery (Waters, Roberts, & Morgen, 1997). Another widely accepted opinion was that patient involvement in the treatment process had to be completely voluntary.…”