title: Never-pregnant African American adolescent girls' perceptions of adolescent pregnancy.
abstract: Despite the decrease in adolescent pregnancy rates, rates among African American girls remain higher than other racial/ethnic adolescent groups. This descriptive qualitative study explored never-pregnant African American adolescent girls' perceptions about adolescent pregnancy. Sixty-four participants participated in individual interviews and focus groups. Individual interviews examined beliefs about adolescent pregnancy and perceptions of life changes resulting from becoming pregnant during adolescence. Focus groups were held to validate findings from the interviews. Participants agreed that becoming pregnant during adolescence would negatively impact their education, family, and peers. Participants anticipated feelings of shame and embarrassment in the event that they became pregnant.
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Nursing, Birmingham, AL. Electronic address: gchilds@uab.edu.
authors.forename: Gwendolyn D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Childs
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Nursing, Birmingham, AL.
authors.forename: Candace
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Nursing, Birmingham, AL.
authors.forename: Reashanda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D020073:Gravidity; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D010465:Perception; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D014481:United States
keywords: Parental influence; Peer influence; Sexual decision-making; Sexual risk-taking; Teen pregnancy