ORIGINAL PAPER
The correlation between social support and attitudes of teenage
girls towards their pregnancy and childbirth
1
Department of Integrated Medical Care, Collegium Medicum, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw, Poland
2
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
3
Department of Holistic Care and Management in Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Submission date: 2021-12-28
Final revision date: 2022-03-16
Acceptance date: 2022-03-18
Publication date: 2022-03-31
Medical Studies 2022;38(1):44-53
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Social support is a type of interaction that occurs between individuals, and its most important sources are people in the immediate environment. Pregnancy and giving birth represent a special time in the life of a teenage girl. The time arouses a lot of emotions, both positive and negative, often accompanied by a lack of support from those closest to her.
Aim of the research:
To determine the correlation between the social support received and the types of attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth presented by adolescent mothers.
Material and methods:
A cross-sectional study with the use of the Social Support Scale and a questionnaire to measure women’s attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth was carried out. The study included 308 adolescent puerperae aged between 13 and 19 years.
Results:
The study showed that the overall level of social support was not significantly associated with the type of attitude towards both pregnancy (p = 0.28) and childbirth (p = 0.22). However, a significant correlation was found between the attitude towards both pregnancy and childbirth and the support received from teachers (p = 0.004; p = 0.02, respectively). Correlation that was close to significant was found between the attitude towards pregnancy and the support received from strangers (p = 0.05) and young members of the local community (p = 0.09).
Conclusions:
Future research should establish the correlation between the attitudes and the received social support for groups of different nature, including different cultures.
Social support is a type of interaction that occurs between individuals, and its most important sources are people in the immediate environment. Pregnancy and giving birth represent a special time in the life of a teenage girl. The time arouses a lot of emotions, both positive and negative, often accompanied by a lack of support from those closest to her.
Aim of the research:
To determine the correlation between the social support received and the types of attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth presented by adolescent mothers.
Material and methods:
A cross-sectional study with the use of the Social Support Scale and a questionnaire to measure women’s attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth was carried out. The study included 308 adolescent puerperae aged between 13 and 19 years.
Results:
The study showed that the overall level of social support was not significantly associated with the type of attitude towards both pregnancy (p = 0.28) and childbirth (p = 0.22). However, a significant correlation was found between the attitude towards both pregnancy and childbirth and the support received from teachers (p = 0.004; p = 0.02, respectively). Correlation that was close to significant was found between the attitude towards pregnancy and the support received from strangers (p = 0.05) and young members of the local community (p = 0.09).
Conclusions:
Future research should establish the correlation between the attitudes and the received social support for groups of different nature, including different cultures.
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| eISSN: | 2300-6722 |
| ISSN: | 1899-1874 |
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