Introduction

Teen pregnancy rates have declined in the United States; however, disparities continue to persist particularly among minority, low-income adolescents. A greater understanding of how pregnancy intentions are conceptualized for adolescents, and the role of the social context may illuminate reasons for disparities. The aim of this study was to expand the lens in which adolescents’ perspectives of pregnancy are studied by exploring the contextual factors that frame how pregnancy intentions are developed among urban adolescents.

Methods

Thirteen focus groups (N = 46) were conducted with male and female adolescents 15–19 years old in Baltimore, Maryland. Participants were recruited from local high schools, and focus groups were stratified by sex and age (15–17 and 18–19). A phenomenological approach was applied to analyze the data both deductively and inductively, allowing for themes to emerge and align within an existing conceptual framework.

Results

Two themes identified were stated pregnancy intentions and shared schemas of sex and pregnancy. Participants discussed a range of pregnancy intentions and expressed five social perspectives which informed those intentions: sex is a gendered responsibility, teen pregnancy is cyclical and common, teen pregnancy is not a completely negative experience, having a child fulfills emotional and relational voids, and pregnancy should happen early, just not too early.

Conclusion

Pregnancy intentions for adolescents are expansive and driven by complex social perspectives set in their context. More consideration of the context is needed to provide and offer adolescents, particularly those of vulnerable communities, supports that align with their reproductive health needs.

中文翻译：

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“我可以尝试和计划，但仍然怀孕”：青少年怀孕意图和生殖健康决策的复杂性

介绍

美国的青少年怀孕率有所下降；然而，差距继续存在，尤其是在少数族裔、低收入青少年之间。更深入地了解如何将青少年的怀孕意图概念化，以及社会背景的作用可能会阐明造成差异的原因。本研究的目的是通过探索构成城市青少年怀孕意图如何发展的背景因素，扩大研究青少年怀孕观点的视角。

方法

在马里兰州巴尔的摩对 15-19 岁的男性和女性青少年进行了 13 个焦点小组（N = 46）。参与者是从当地高中招募的，焦点小组按性别和年龄（15-17 岁和 18-19 岁）进行分层。应用现象学方法以演绎和归纳的方式分析数据，允许主题出现并在现有的概念框架内保持一致。

结果

确定的两个主题是陈述的怀孕意图和性和怀孕的共享模式。参与者讨论了一系列怀孕意图，并表达了五个影响这些意图的社会观点：性是一种性别责任，少女怀孕是周期性和普遍的，少女怀孕不是一种完全消极的经历，生孩子可以填补情感和关系上的空白，以及怀孕应该早点发生，只是不要太早。

结论

青少年的怀孕意图是广泛的，并受到在其背景下设定的复杂社会观点的驱动。需要更多地考虑背景，以便为青少年，特别是弱势社区的青少年提供符合其生殖健康需求的支持。