A concept map of male partners in teenage pregnancy: implications for school counselors - Statistical Data Included

Professional School Counseling, Feb, 2002 by Rodney K. Goodyear

U.S. teen pregnancy rates remain high compared to those of other industrialized nations (Adolescent Health, 1995), despite the drop that has occurred since they peaked in 1991 (Ventura, Clarke, & Matthews, 1996). Because the well-documented social costs are substantial (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998; Maynard, 1997), it is important that teenage pregnancy prevention remain a priority of public health professionals, policymakers, and counselors. Yet, a sometimes-unrecognized barrier to developing more effective prevention, intervention, and policy has been the scant research on the male partners of the young women who become pregnant. Kiselica, Gorcynski, and Capps (1998) confirmed that school counselors need information about teen fathers.

In the absence of research, perceptions of the male partners have remained ill defined and often based on the stereotype that they are sexual predators. This is the implicit suggestion of researchers who employ such terms as the adult liaison (e.g., Males, 1992) to discuss the consistent finding that these males are on average about 3 years older than their teenage female companions who become pregnant (Landry & Forrest, 1995; Lindberg, Sonenstein, Ku, & Martinez, 1997; Males, 1992; Males & Chew, 1996). This perception has been evident as well in the popular press (Roan, 1995) and among public officials who have responded by enforcing statutory rape laws more vigorously (Donovan, 1997).

But there are many pathways to teen pregnancy, and it is reasonable to assume that different types of young men might travel each of these diverse paths. Certainly some male partners do behave as sexual predators. But there is ample anecdotal evidence that many others behave from different motives. Curiously, though, no attempts have been made to develop more differentiated empirical classifications of those males. To have classifications that are valid and empirically grounded could aid school counselors to develop more effective interventions.

This study employed Trochim's (1989; n.d.) concept-mapping procedure to capitalize on the expertise of those people likely to have the best real-world understanding of pregnant teens and their partners: teachers, counselors, and case workers who work directly with them. Trochim's procedure uses multivariate statistics to depict visually a group's understanding of a particular phenomenon or issue. Counseling-related applications of Trochim's procedure have included descriptions of the experience of depression (Daughtry & Kunkel, 1993) and of giftedness (Kunkel, Chapa, Patterson, & Walling, 1995) as well as clients' perceptions of helpful experiences in counseling (Paulson, Truscott, & Stuart, 1999). The goal of this study was to develop a classification of young men who have been responsible for one or more teen pregnancies. To have this knowledge is a first step for school counselors to develop appropriate programs and interventions.

Method

Participants

The 41 (25 female; 16 male) participants reported a median of 3.0 years' direct experience working with pregnant teens and their male partners. Employed in high schools, continuation high schools, social service agencies, and teen outreach programs throughout Los Angeles County, they described their job titles as social work case workers (n = 17), counselors (n = 6), teachers (n = 5), program directors (n = 3), administrators (n = 3), child care technicians (n = 4), outreach workers (n = 2), and psychologist (n = 1). When asked to rate "the extent to which you feel knowledgeable about males who have been responsible for teen pregnancy" using a 7-point scale where 1 = not at all knowledgeable and 7 = extremely knowledgeable, their mean rating was 5.03 (SD = 1.11).

Participants' mean age was 36.00 years (SD = 10.92). Of the 39 who reported ethnicity, the breakdown was as follows: Hispanic (19; 48.7%), African American (9; 23.1%), White (8; 20.5%), Asian American (2; 5.1%), and mixed (1; 2.6%).

Materials

Stimulus materials were brief descriptions (about 120 words for each) of 20 males who had impregnated a teenager. These included information about the males' ages, their partners' ages, ethnicity, relationship history and status, and particulars of the pregnancy. These vignettes were developed by drawing from the approximately 1,900 case descriptions obtained in questionnaires and interviews conducted as part of a larger project. The relationships depicted in these vignettes were chosen to portray the broadest possible array of male and female characteristics and life circumstances.

The vignettes were sent to six counselors and social workers who were highly experienced with teen pregnancies. Each reviewed the vignettes to ensure that they represented the range of circumstances, participant ages, and participant ethnicities with which they were familiar. Based on their feedback, it was necessary to revise only two of the case descriptions to add breadth of description.

For example, one of the vignettes (Case 15) contained the following information: