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Health:, Vol. 9, No. 1, 89-111 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1363459305048100

Politicizing dominant discursive constructions about teenage pregnancy: re-locating the subject as social

Jane Cherrington

Massey University, New Zealand

Mary Breheny

Massey University, New Zealand, Mary.Breheny.1{at}uni.massey.ac.nz

Authors of research examining the issue of teenage pregnancy represent authoritative social voices, in strong positions of warrant that participate in shaping dominant social attitudes towards the subject. Their research projects are used to develop policies, information, service provision and practices that are major forces in shaping the actual experience of being pregnant as a teenager. This article examines local examples of such research and locates interpretation of these alongside other international studies. Prevalent in the research is the taken for granted assumption that pregnancy in adolescence is undesirable, and that research knowledge can, and should be, applied to reduce rates of teenage pregnancy. Despite clear indications of social issues being a major source of negative impacts of being pregnant in adolescence, the dominant theme is of teenage pregnancy as an individual health or behavioural problem in need of a psychological solution. This article would like to draw attention to and make visible the contingent, political and potentially problematic nature of those constructions. The suggestion is made that future work could benefit from genuine attention to: 1) social issues, especially in relation to resources and access; 2) work that explores meanings around pregnancy for young people, and 3) the application of politically engaged reflexivity in research.

Key Words: adolescent motherhood • discourse analysis • social theory • socio-cultural factors • teenage pregnancy


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