Kids Having Kids: Perspectives of Adolescents and Young Adults of Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines on Teenage Pregnancy

• Main Authors: Calara, Alvaro, Tanzo, Irene R., Talento, Mara Sherleen D.G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: teenage pregnancy; Internet; Los Baños; referent individual; comprehensive sexuality education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/apssr/vol23/iss4/3; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/apssr/article/1514/viewcontent/RA_202.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study focused on establishing the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of Grade 12 learners about teenage pregnancy (TP). The study was conducted among students from different high schools in Los Baños, Laguna. As a municipality, Los Baños has manifested a relatively high case of TP over the last 10 years from 2009 to 2018. A mixed method was used, which started with focus group discussions (FGD) that were geared towards survey implementation. Three FGDs were completed with a mixture of male and female participants. The survey had a total of 42 respondents. Results showed that students had high knowledge scores about TP and a mix of responses to the various attitude and behavior statements presented to them. The survey results and analysis show that knowledge scores and attitudes have a negative monotonic association. Based on the theory of reasoned action, the role of peers and the Internet are crucial to the attitude and behavior of the youth regarding teenage pregnancy. Institutional support is needed at the municipal and national levels to address the burgeoning concern on TP. A concerted effort of the family, the school, the community, the local government, and the youth community will also be needed to come up with cohesive and appropriate interventions that genuinely address this phenomenon.