The psychosocial effects of teenage pregnancy on high school learners in the Vryheid District, KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy in South African communities is on the increase and poses serious socio-economic and health problems. Several factors contribute to teenagers engaging in sexual activities at school. Thus, the aim of the study was to explore the psychosocial effects of teenage pregnancy on high school learners in the Vryheid District, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province. To achieve this, a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study was used to conduct the study. Naturalist paradigm that was adopted by the researcher is naturalist as participants were sharing their experiences and their realities were interpreted to find the underlying meaning of the events and activities. The study was conducted at two high schools at eMondlo township in Vryheid District. The selected population of this was grade 12, female high school learners. The study employed both purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. Semi - structured interviews were used to collect data from learners who are currently pregnant and those that were pregnant previously. The sample consisted of 18 learners who were interviewed for the study and data was analysed by using thematic analysis. Themes that emerged from the study are lack of support and stigma, self-judgement, mental health well-being, physical health, interruption of education, resilience and training, skills, and support. Teenage pregnancy is one of the psychosocial problems that teenagers experience and poses many challenges in their well-being. Furthermore, these challenges contributed to drop-out and poor performance at school. Physical health is a threatening concern amongst pregnant learners as well as access to health care services. Thus, schools, the Department of Education, parents, and communities must play a critical role in ensuring that interventions and prevention strategies are put in place to address teenage pregnancy in schools.