Coping with Problems of Families with Unplanned Teenage Pregnancies
Sujitra Khunnoy, Saowakhon Weerasiri
Abstract
This descriptive research aims to study how families cope with the problem of unplanned teenage pregnancies using the family crisis theory. The tool used was a structured interview and open-ended questions to assess family adaptation. The quality of the tool was verified by content validity from 5 experts, resulting in a CVI of 0.78. It was tested with a similar sample group of 10 families, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.7. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The research results showed that most family members were mothers, accounting for 93.3%, with the average age of teenage children being 17 years. The average score for family coping was at a moderate level (X = 3.51, S.D = 0.51). When analyzing individual coping items, the highest score was for “The family tries to view this family problem positively to stay motivated and overcome it successfully” (X = 4.47, S.D = 0.63). The item with the lowest average score was “The family does not share problems and difficulties with neighbors” (X = 2.07, S.D = 1.20).
Content analysis revealed that the most common cause of stress was “The child is pregnant while being a student” (17 families). The majority of perceptions of the situation included “Feeling shocked, not believing this happened to oneself” and “Feeling ashamed, afraid of gossip, and angry with the child.” Most families had no support and believed that medical personnel were the ones who could help.
The family’s coping methods found that all experienced overthinking to the point of insomnia, did not consult anyone, and planned to seek advice from medical personnel. It can be concluded that most family coping is at a moderate level and is primarily emotion-focused. This information can be used to plan and design care to support and enhance effective family coping. Keywords: Family Coping, Unplanned Teenage Pregnancy
Conclusion
Families coping with teenage pregnancy problems mostly have different ways of managing family crises. The study found that families try to find information about terminating the pregnancy to help the child in the early stages of pregnancy awareness. Families solve problems by buying abortifacient drugs for the child to induce miscarriage, thinking of ways to help the child, leading to insomnia, and not telling anyone or consulting outsiders due to the shame and desire to keep it secret. This delay in addressing the problem led to an increase in gestational age. Families came to understand the problem and decided to talk to the personnel at this service facility. These methods may involve choosing one or more approaches. Health personnel can gather information and assess which families are at risk of maladaptation, providing information that can help offer further assistance or advice to families, enabling them to resolve the issues and maintain their family roles and responsibilities.
Source: Journal of Health Promotion and Environmental Health, Volume 41, April – June 2018