Running head: TEEN PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL 1

PERSPECTIVE
Writing Project 2 Revision

In the original essay, I included all four of my sources in the introduction. I thought this

was mandatory and wanted to show readers which articles I was focusing on. After receiving

comments from my professor, Robert Speiser, I realized that this may have overwhelmed the

reader. Four sources back-to-back in the introduction would overwhelm and bore me. I revised,

Woodward and Fergusson (1999), authors of Early Conduct Problems and Later Risk of

Teenage Pregnancy in Girls write from the psychological perspective. Woodward and Fergusson

(1999) discuss the physical, social and emotional risks associated with teenage pregnancy.

Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Childbearing, written by Laurie Schwab Zabin and Sarah C.

Hayward (1993), examines the consequences of childbearing from a psychological perspective.

Teen Pregnancy by Alice Sterling Honig (2012) mainly focuses on the sociological factors that

influence teen sexual behavior. The Youngest Mothers by Gillian Schofield (1994), focuses on

the experiences of young women who become mothers while in school. to Psychology discuss

the physical, social and emotional risks associated with teenage pregnancy. Sociology mainly

focuses on the factors that influence teen sexual behavior and experiences of young women who

become mothers while in school. Sociology focuses on the experiences that affect teen

pregnancies as a group, while psychology concentrates on the consequences of an individual

teenage pregnancy. This maintains the informative tone when introducing the disciplines

without intimidating the reader.

Another aspect I added into my essay was a quote directly from the book to support my

argument. My professor noticed I had a good argument, but lacked quotes to strengthen the

argument. My argument consisted of, Schofield (1994) interviews many teenage mothers and

uses direct quotes and names to provide a personal tone. She is trying to narrate the story of
TEENAGE PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 2

different individual mothers and their experiences.. I added specific evidence in my new essay

When addressing the issue of relationships, Schofield interviewed a young mother, Kelly. Kelly

explained, I havent told David about his real Dad. David thinks John is his dad. I will tell him

eventually. (pg 102). Schofield comments on the issue, claiming there were few expressions of

anger apart from Kelly whose boyfriend had proceeded to marry the next girlfriend who became

pregnant.. This strengthened my argument and proved to readers that the author is very

personal when conducting interviews.

When writing the second essay, I focused on the differences between my two disciplines,

sociology and psychology. Although they are very closely related, I found distinctions between

the two and based my essay on them. I decided to add a paragraph towards the end on the close

relationship between the two disciplines. I stated, In order to determine the mental processes of

an individual, psychology requires sociology to determine how the human mind is being

influenced by social environment.. I added an example from one of my readings about a mental

concept, The Personal Fable. This relates to teen pregnancy because teens take sexual risks,

believing they are invulnerable. Teens assume that unwanted pregnancies only affect others and

will never happen to them. I added this example because it explains the close, dependent

relationship of both disciplines while explaining another factor that can lead to teen pregnancy.
TEENAGE PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 3

Teenage Pregnancy: Psychological vs Sociological Perspectives

Alexis Del Alto

University of California, Santa Barbara

TEENAGE PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 4

Going to prom, graduating high school and getting a drivers license are unforgettable

moments in a teenagers life; but one more common event is being added to the listhaving a

baby. Teenage pregnancy has become an epidemic that contains lifelong consequences.

Pregnancy affects millions of teens worldwide and a majority of the pregnancies are unplanned.

Unplanned teen pregnancies can lead to single parenthood, poverty and health complications in

both baby and mother. Psychology discuss the physical, social and emotional risks associated

with teenage pregnancy. Sociology mainly focuses on the factors that influence teen sexual

behavior and experiences of young women who become mothers while in school. Sociology

focuses on the experiences that affect teen pregnancies as a group, while psychology

concentrates on the consequences of an individual teenage pregnancy. Sociology uses different

literary practices to convey a personal, narrative tone while psychology uses a scientific,

straightforward tone. First, I will compare the structures of each disciplines articles. Next, I will

analyze the different literacy conventions used in each discipline. Lastly, I will discuss methods

that can prevent teen pregnancy.

Both disciplines use different structures within each article. Woodward and Fergusson

(1999) begin their article with a straightforward abstract that briefly explains the purpose of the

article. Since the psychological article is much longer, authors wrote an abstract to show readers

if the article pertains to them or is worth reading. The abstract is very general and simply

explains that there is a correlation between teenage pregnancy and risk taking behavior in

adolescence. The introduction is more descriptive and explains which risk taking behaviors they

are talking about. Woodward and Fergusson (1999) suggest that girls with poor mental health,

substance use, affiliations with delinquent peers and school social behavior problems are at an

increased risk for pregnancy (p. 128). The introduction is more descriptive because the abstract
TEENAGE PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 5

serves as a general, short summary of the paper. The introduction provides the foundation to the

topic and includes the thesis statement. The methods section contains many short paragraphs

with subheadings. The subheadings represent which risk taking behavior they tested and include

a brief paragraph explaining how they tested it. The presence of a method section indicates that

the audience may be more scientific. Including the methods section in a paper increases the

validity of the argument by precisely explaining how the study was conducted. The discussion is

the longest part of the article and also includes subheadings. The use of subheadings provides a

clear guidance for readers and make it easy to follow along.

In contrast, sociological articles have a simpler structure. Honig (2012) starts off with an

engaging introduction that lists question that will be answered later in the article, such as What

other factors are associated with high teen pregnancy rates? (p. 181). The article contains

unanswered questions to engage the reader since the article is much shorter. It is similar to an

abstract because it states what questions they will be answering, without giving away too much

detail. The rest of the article is split up into different topics that the introduction states. Honig

(2012) uses subheading titles such as Media, peer and family influences as risk factors and

What aspects of adolescent thinking lead to unplanned pregnancy? (pp. 181-182). The

subheadings provide a clear insight of what each paragraph is about. The article ends with a

conclusion that sums up the factors listed and methods to prevent teen pregnancy. The

sociological article contains a guided, easy to follow structure. The audience may be the general

public, while psychological refers to a more professional audience.

Both discourse communities include experimentation methods to support their claims.

Psychologically uses controlled longitudinal studies because they focus on one particular

individual. In 1991, Woodward and Fergusson conducted a longitudinal prospective study on

TEENAGE PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 6

mental health. They found that girls identified as conduct disordered at the age of 15 years were

4 times more likely than healthy control girls to have become pregnant by 21 years of age. (p.

128). A key factor of a longitudinal study is that its only an observation and researchers do not

directly interfere with the subject. This is important because it maintains the credibility of the

research. The longitudinal study also allows researchers to follow up with the same teenagers and

conclude whether certain factors affected their sexual behavior. Some young women experienced

behavioral problems while growing up and researchers determined whether these factors may

have influenced their pregnancy. Since pregnancy does not happen quickly, a longitudinal study

is required to determine which early conduct problems affect teen pregnancy.

Sociology uses interviews between the researcher and the subject to collect data.

Schofield (1994) interviews many teenage mothers and uses direct quotes and names to provide a

personal tone. When addressing the issue of relationships, Schofield interviewed a young mother,

Kelly. Kelly explained I havent told David about his real Dad. David thinks John is his dad. I

will tell him eventually. (pg 102). Schofield comments on the issue, claiming there were few

expressions of anger apart from Kelly whose boyfriend had proceeded to marry the next

girlfriend who became pregnant. She is trying to narrate the story of different individual

mothers and their experiences. Therefore, interviews are a way of getting to know the subject

better. Interviews are beneficial because the subject is allowed to respond freely and provide

more detail for each question. The researcher can get to know the subject more in depth and must

gain her trust, which also adds personal tone.

Credibility is also an important aspect in both disciplines when trying to support their

claims. Both psychology and sociology uses references and include educational details about the

authors. Woodward and Fergusson (1999) both list the Christchurch School of Medicine and
TEENAGE PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 7

their article contains two full pages of references. Honings (2012) also adds references and is

part of the International Journal of Adolescence and Youth which gives credibility. Some authors

who choose to include universities in their biography may be professors. Being a professor gives

credibility because it shows they are exceptionally knowledgeable in that particular field. These

conventions provide ethos to convince the audience that their argument is reliable.

Psychology and sociology use distinct lexis to convey different tones. Psychology uses

scientific diction to address an academic audience. The title of the book Adolescent Sexual

Behavior and Childbearing is very specific and straightforward. Since the title is not creative,

readers can assume the book is scientific and going to get straight to the point. The word choice

is also more complex and background information is needed when explaining statistics.

Woodward and Fergusson (1999) explain a figure by stating This comparison was tested for

significance using the Mantel-Haenszel 2 test of linearity. (p. 133). Background information is

needed in statistics to fully understand the equation used. The title of the book The Youngest

Mothers contains some creativity. Readers do not know whether this will be a novel or historical

book about the worlds youngest mothers. Schofield (1994) constantly refers to teenage mothers

by their name or young woman while Zabin and Hayward (1993) use adolescent. Sociology

addresses a general audience because they use a casual tone and understandable lexis.

Sociology uses pathos to convey a personal tone. Both Hoing (2012 and Schofielf (1994)

constantly use direct quotes from each teenage mother along with their name. Schofield (1994)

wants to explain the personal experiences each girl went through so she directly uses quotes. Her

goal is to eliminate the negative stereotypes associated with all teen mothers. The use of names

and direct quotes provides a personal tone because readers will feel a personal connection to
TEENAGE PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 8

each young woman. Audience are more likely to sympathize with each girl when they already

feel a person connection to her.

Both psychology and sociology focus on the scientific study of people. Sociology focuses

on social groups while psychology focuses on mental processes of individuals. The two social

sciences are interconnected and depend on one another. One example of the interrelated

disciplines is when determining what factors influence teen pregnancy. Honig explains the

concept, The Personal Fable, which refers to teens thinking they are unaffected to ills of others.

(Honig, 2012). This relates to teen pregnancy because teens take sexual risks, believing they are

invulnerable. Teens assume that unwanted pregnancies only affect others and will never happen

to them. This concept combines sociology and psychology because it focuses on how social

groups affect an individuals actions. In order to determine the mental processes of an individual,

psychology requires sociology to determine how the human mind is being influenced by social

environment.

Psychology and sociology are two discourse communities that are fairly similar on the

surface. When analyzing both disciplines, they use distinct literary practices to communicate

with different audiences. Psychology attracts academic scholars by using complex, scientific

lexis and an advanced format. Sociology appeals to a general audience by using simple jargon

and a personal tone. Teenage pregnancy is a challenge that has long-term consequences on

mothers. Teenage mothers are more likely to suffer from school dropout and unemployment.

Unlike other common epidemics, teen pregnancy does not have a cure but is preventable.

Adolescent pregnancy can be prevented by adding courses on child development, encouraging

open communication with parents and giving teens access to caring for a baby on a regular basis.
TEENAGE PREGNANCY: PSYCHOLOGICAL VS SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 9

References

Honig, A. S. (2012). Teen pregnancy. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 17(4),

181-187. doi:10.1080/02673843.2012.655912

Schofield, G. (1994). The youngest mothers: the experience of pregnancy and motherhood

among young women of school age. Aldershot: Avebury.

Woodward, L. J., & Fergusson, D. M. (1999). Early conduct problems and later risk of teenage

pregnancy in girls. Development and Psychopathology, 11(1), 127-141.

doi:10.1017/s0954579499001984

Zabin, L. S., & Hayward, S. C. (1993). Adolescent sexual behavior and childbearing. Newbury

Park u.a.: Sage Publ.