Psychosocial Effects of Teenage Pregnancy on School-attending Female Adolescents in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32350/ihr.61.05Keywords:
academic performance, adolescent mothers, Nigeria, psychosocial effects, self-esteem, teenage pregnancyAbstract
Teenage pregnancy remains a critical public health and educational concern in Sub-Saharan Africa. This descriptive survey study examined the psychosocial effects of teenage pregnancy on school-going adolescents in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 438 female secondary school students between the ages of 18 and 19 from 15 sampled schools across Ilorin. Data was gathered using a validated questionnaire, and Chi-square analysis and descriptive statistics were utilized at a significance level of 0.05. The results revealed that teenage pregnancy is significantly associated with elevated stress and anxiety (χ² = 29.52, p < 0.05), depression (χ² = 35.33, p < 0.05), diminished self-esteem (χ² = 27.15, p < 0.05), and declining academic performance (χ² = 63.39, p < 0.05). The results showed how urgently comprehensive school-based psychological support programs and policy initiatives that are specifically designed to address the particular difficulties experienced by adolescent moms in Nigerian secondary schools are needed.
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