ABSTRACT
Teenage pregnancy refers to pregnancy occurring in young girls between the age of 13 and 19 years. It can also be referred to as pregnancy in a young girl who is yet to complete her secondary school education and is not skilled in any trade that could make her live a sustainable lifestyle. (Gyan 2017)
Sociologically, teenage pregnancy is a social problem because humans are social beings. In other words, our social background shapes our attitudes and behaviors to a very high extent. Barkan (2019), opined that social backgrounds affect important part of lives, and that of life chances, whether we have a good chance or little chances of being healthy, wealthy and well educated, or more generally, of living a good and a happy life.
The aim of this study was to assess the perceived effect of teenage pregnancy on the academic performance of secondary school girls in yewa comprehensive college, ilaro and also their level of knowledge and factors contributing to teenage pregnancy.
The study used a non - experimental study using self - structured questionnaire to obtain information from participants.
The data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and results were presented in form of tables and charts. The result showed that 83.5% of the students have high knowledge about teenage pregnancy while 16.5% have low knowledge of teenage pregnancy. Results also revealed the factors causing teenage pregnancy to be peer group influence (78.2%), lack of knowledge (82%), separated parents (75.9%) and culture (69.2%), poverty (79.7%), poor parenting (91.0%) and residential area (73.7%). The study also showed effect of teenage pregnancy on academic performance as absent from school, reduction in performance in school discriminated against by educators and lack of support from educators and an obscure future perspective.
In conclusion, The study concluded that secondary school students in Yewa College have good knowledge of causes of teenage pregnancy and its effect on the education of teenagers. It is imperative for educators to improve their knowledge and ensure that the students don’t fall victim to this rampant menace of teenage pregnancy as it could negatively affect their academic performance and sometimes it could put an end to their education.
WORD POINTS:300 words
KEY WORDS: perceived effects, pregnancy, teenager, academic performance, secondary school girls.
