TEENAGE PREGNANCY

The making and unmaking of

a problem
Lisa Arai

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This edition published in Great Britain in 2009 by
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For Tamsin, Jameela, Layla and Safiya

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 Contents
List of figures and tables vii
Acknowledgements viii
Abbreviations ix

Part One: Making a problem

one Introduction: ‘Shattered lives and blighted futures’ 3
Teenage pregnancy as a problem 3
Recent trends in teenage pregnancy: an overview 6
Rethinking teenage pregnancy as a problem 10
Aim 14
two Who has a baby as a teenager? 19
Introduction 19
Factors associated with teenage pregnancy and fertility 21
Young fathers and looked-after children and young people 34
Summary 37
three Epidemics, fluctuations and trends: the everyday depiction of 39
teenage pregnancy
Introduction 39
The uses of data 40
Stories about teenage pregnancy 43
The spectre of the underclass 50
Summary 52
four New Labour, a new approach to teenage pregnancy 55
Introduction 55
Policy on teenage pregnancy before New Labour 56
Teenage Pregnancy and its meanings 61
The TPS and its fortunes over a decade 68
Summary 70

Part Two: Unmaking a problem

five What are the consequences of teenage fertility? 75
Introduction 75
Socioeconomic research on the outcomes of 79
teenage fertility
Health-related research on the outcomes of teenage fertility 84
Summary 88

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Teenage pregnancy

six Contextualising teenage pregnancy 91

Introduction 91
International contexts: comparisons between nations 92
The national context: demography and youth transitions 100
Local contexts: the experience of early motherhood 103
Summary 106
seven Theorising teenage pregnancy as a problem 109
Introduction 109
Theorising teenage pregnancy as a problem 110
Moving from deviance to dependence 117
Locating the real problem 122
Summary 124
eight Conclusion: no silver bullet. Teenage pregnancy as a problem: 127
overview and recommendations
Introduction 127
Previous chapters: overview and key messages 127
An assessment of the TPS and the emergence of 132
new ‘problems’
Recommendations 136

References 145
Index 169

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 List of figures and tables

Figure
7.1 Target populations and political power 113

Tables
1.1 Teenage (under 20) fertility rates, England and Wales: 7
various years, 1961–2005
1.2 Teenage (under 16, under 18, under 20) conception rates, 8
England and Wales: various years, 1991–2005
5.1 Consequences of teenage motherhood: selected studies 80
with a socioeconomic and related focus, various years and
countries
5.2 Consequences of teenage motherhood: selected studies 85
with a health-related focus, various years and countries

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Teenage pregnancy

Acknowledgements
This book grew out of research undertaken for my PhD thesis which
I started in 1999. I am grateful to everybody who helped me from
that time, especially my supervisors, Dr Ray Hall and Professor Sarah
Curtis (both then at Queen Mary), my sister, Kathryn Gray, and
others who assisted me at the fieldwork stage of the PhD. I am very
grateful to the young mothers who opened up their homes to me and
spoke so candidly about their lives, and to the healthcare professionals
who agreed to be interviewed and facilitated contact with potential
respondents. Funding for the PhD research was provided by the
Department of Geography, Queen Mary and the University of London
Research Fund.
Thanks to my manager for many years at City University and then
at the Institute of Education (University of London), Professor Helen
Roberts, who helped me with my PhD, read journal papers arising
from it and the outline for this book. I am indebted to her and to all
my colleagues past and present, including Madeleine Stevens, Kristin
Liabo, Dr Katherine Tyler and others from the Institute of Education, as
well as colleagues at The Open University, especially Professor Rachel
Thomson.Thanks also to Professor Philip Ryan (Carleton University),
who gave me useful advice about constructionist perspectives on policy
making. I am very grateful to the reviewers who read early drafts of
the book and provided valuable feedback. Leila Ebrahimi at The Policy
Press and Health and Society series editor Dr Mary Shaw have been
supportive and patient throughout the writing of this book.

viii

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 Abbreviations
ALSPAC Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
ALSWH Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health
BCS70 British Cohort Study 1970
BHPS British Household Panel Survey
BMI body mass index
CBS Cardiff Births Survey
CHDS Christchurch Health and Development Study
DCFS Department for Children, Families and Schools
DCLG Department for Communities and Local Government
DfES Department for Education and Skills
DH Department of Health
ECHP European Community Household Panel
ECLS-K Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Kindergarten
Class)
GHS General Household Study
HOTN Health of the Nation
LFS Labour Force Survey
MUSP Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy
NCDS National Child Development Study
NLSAH National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
NLSY National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
NRU Neighbourhood Renewal Unit
ONS Office of National Statistics
OR odds ratio
PCT Primary Care Trust
PSA Public Service Agreement
SAGHS South African General Household Survey
SES socioeconomic status
SEU Social Exclusion Unit
SSP Sure Start Plus
TPS Teenage Pregnancy Strategy
TPU Teenage Pregnancy Unit

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