Teenage Pregnancy in Malaysia: Understanding the Importance of Social Support in Relation to Coping, Resilience and Mental Health
Saim N.J.1, Ghazinour M.2, Richter J.3
1Saim Nor Jana, School of Psychology and Human Well Being, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia.
2Ghazinour Mehdi, Police Education Unit, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
3Richter Jörg, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Hull, Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom.
Manuscript received on 17 September 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 04 October 2019 | Manuscript Published on 11 October 2019 | PP: 79-87 | Volume-8 Issue-2S10 September 2019 | Retrieval Number: B10120982S1019/2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijrte.B1012.0982S1019
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Losing the social support from family and friends may affect coping, resilience and increase a risk of mental health problems among pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers. This article aims to describe the importance and availability of social support related to coping, resilience and mental health among unwed pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers in Malaysia during their stay in a shelter home. A purposive sampling was employed to select seventeen respondents from 128 unmarried pregnant and teenage mothers; age 10 to 18 years living in four different shelter homes owing that they were pregnancy out of wedlock. The findings are based on analysis of interviews and questionnaires related to social support, ways of coping, resilience and mental health. The study found strong indication in both, the qualitative and quantitative data, that unwed pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers have poor social support in terms of availability and adequacy. Hence, it reflected in their ways of coping, resilience, and put them at risk to develop mental health problems if untreated. The authorities and the staff in shelter homes are advice to take seriously social support aspects, especially from the family since they play a vital role for well-being and mental health of unwed pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers.
Keywords: Teenage Pregnancy, Unwed Mothers, Social Support, Malaysia.
Scope of the Article: Computational Biology