Psychosocial well-being and human rights of teenage mothers attending high schools in Easter Cape, South Africa

This paper reports on teenage motherhood and its adverse outcomes on the academic performance, emotional well-being and sexual relationships that adolescent females encounter. Drawing from Ryff’s six dimensions of... [ view full abstract ]

This paper reports on teenage motherhood and its adverse outcomes on the academic performance, emotional well-being and sexual relationships that adolescent females encounter. Drawing from Ryff’s six dimensions of psychological well-being and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model which underpinned this study, teenage motherhood has been found to link with multiple factors such as poverty, negative self-esteem, substance abuse, cohabitation, intimate partner violence and ill-health. Furthermore, research indicates that in schools where educators fail to perform their duties as loco-parentis to motivate adolescent females learners who are mothers, absenteeism and learned helplessness, are likely. The aim of this research was two-fold, namely; (i) to determine the impact of teenage motherhood on the psychological well-being of the teenage mothers and (ii) to investigate the policies which protect the human rights of teenage mothers attending secondary schools. In a qualitative study conducted in one secondary school, Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape, South Africa, fifteen Xhosa-speaking teenage mothers, aged 15-18 years old, were interviewed. The sample was recruited by means of purposive sampling. To safeguard the human dignity of the respondents, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and privacy of the respondents were assured. For trustworthiness, this research ensured that credibility, neutrality and transferability, are met. Following an axial and open coding of responses, findings showed that teenage mothers lack resilience and are susceptible to contract sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, owing to stigma that the teenage mothers experience from family members, they resort to alcohol and drug abuse, and feel demotivated to bond with their babies. Based on the findings, the Health and Social Development departments should collaborate to empower the psychological well-being of teenage mothers. Furthermore, school policies on discrimination should be enacted and consistently reviewed.