title: Social support during adolescent pregnancy: piecing together a quilt.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate pregnant adolescents' experiences of receiving support, including variations by age.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was guided by feminist theory.
  
  
  METHODS
  An alternative, public school for pregnant and parenting adolescents in an urban area of the Southern United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 30) consisted of 6 early (13-14), 19 middle (15-16), and 5 late (17-18) adolescents. Nineteen of the participants were African American, 10 European American, and 1 Asian American.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative research design based on feminist theory with data collected through focus groups. The focus groups were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and checked against the first author's field notes, then analyzed using principles of analytic induction. Group interaction and influence were considered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The metaphor of a patchwork quilt emerged from the data and represented how adolescents "piece together" the support they need from adults, peers, and partners who are often unreliable. Affecting receipt of social support were the adolescents' relationships with their families and their babies' fathers, threats to their safety, and their socioeconomic status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings can be used by nurses, educators, and community leaders as they develop programs to meet the needs of these young women.
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville, 555 Floyd Street, Louisville, KY 40202, USA. mclogs01@gwise.louisville.edu
authors.forename: M Cynthia
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Logsdon
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gagne
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Vivian
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rakestraw
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology; D000367:Age Factors; D001213:Asian / Q000208:ethnology; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D019513:Feminism; D017144:Focus Groups; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology