Bugos, Eva
(2014)
“That’s what I look to her for:” a qualitative analysis of interviews from the Young Moms: Together We Can Make a Difference study.
Undergraduate Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The U.S. teenage birth rate is 31 per 1000 women ages 15 to 19. Eighteen percent of those births are repeat teenage births, meaning the child is the second or higher order child born to a teenage woman. This study uses data from the Young Moms: Together We Can Make a Difference study (also called the Maikuru: Teen Mom Mentoring Program), which aims to build life skills, establish a social support network and empower teenage women with children to delay second pregnancies. The Young Moms study uses a novel mentoring model, in which each teenage mother pairs with an adult mentor. The mentor-mentee pairs attend six weekly skills-building workshops, communicate via phone or in person at least once a week, and complete follow-up interviews every three months for a period of two years.
This study uses a grounded theory approach to analyze a set of three-month follow-up interviews (n=9) with mentor-mentee pairs. Interviews were coded according to an a priori codebook corresponding to the interview guide, which elicited information about young mothers’ future plans, the extent of their relationship with their mentor, and their views on the Young Moms study itself. In addition, the interviews were coded for key themes that arose independent of the interview guide.
The study sought to answer the questions: (1) What are the priorities of young women enrolled in the Young Moms study, and (2) From the point of view of young women, how does their relationship with an adult mentor help teenage mothers participating in the Young Moms study set and achieve their goals? Accordingly, interview analysis focused on characterizing the nature and extent of the mentor-mentee relationship and understanding how that relationship benefited mentees. In addition, analyses presented here will inform program evaluations and yield recommendations for improvement.
All participants described a personal goal relating to education, either at the high school or post-secondary level. Three participants planned to join the military, and two talked about their long-term (non-military) career goals. Participants’ descriptions of the mentor-mentee relationship ranged from regular contact to no contact in the weeks prior to their interviews. Adult mentors helped their mentees with the following: Applying to college, identifying future career goals, finding and applying to jobs, and navigating social services. Family planning did not emerge as a priority during any interviews, and no participants spontaneously raised the subject of contraception or family planning.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
| Title | Member | Email Address | Pitt Username | ORCID |
|---|
| Thesis Advisor | Musante, Kathleen | | | | | Committee Member | Maynard, Rebecca | | | | | Committee Member | Documét, Patricia | | | | | Committee Member | South-Paul, Jeannette | | | |
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| Date: |
23 April 2014 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
28 March 2014 |
| Approval Date: |
23 April 2014 |
| Submission Date: |
16 April 2014 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
65 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Anthropology
David C. Frederick Honors College |
| Degree: |
BPhil - Bachelor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Undergraduate Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Teenage Birth, Repeat Teenage Birth, Qualitative |
| Date Deposited: |
23 Apr 2014 19:40 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:19 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21271 |
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