Psychosocial factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Jamaica.

The self-esteem and perceived maternal care and control of 134 Jamaican schoolgirls and 108 pregnant adolescents and teenage mothers were compared. The girls were 14 through 17 years of age, from working-class backgrounds, and living in rural and urban areas. Adapted versions of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Parental Bonding Instrument were administered. Results indicated that the two groups did not differ in perceived maternal care and control. However, the self-esteem of urban schoolgirls was significantly higher than that of their once-pregnant counterparts. This was also true of the total sample. Urban teenagers without father figures were nearly 2.7 times more likely to have been pregnant than were those living with adult male relatives. Thus, father-figure absence and low self-esteem may combine as risk factors for teenage pregnancy in urban Jamaica.