Pregnant Children
The U.S. has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the developed world. The highest rates are in the states of New Mexico, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. About 6% of girls/ young women 15 to 19 become pregnant each year. (Guttmacher link).
Christianity is the dominant religion in the U.S. Christian morality dictates that people should have sex within marriage and most believe that abortion is not an option (some Christians offer consideration when a woman's life is at risk). Nevertheless, most teens have had sex by age 17 and nearly half by age 16.
When a girl becomes pregnant, she is at risk for a range of health and life problems. Anxiety and depression are common.
Should the girl have a choice in managing her pregnancy or should her parents be consulted?
Questions
Should parents be involved in the decision of a minor to
have an abortion?
Does religion play a role in attitudes toward parental
involvement in the abortion, health care, and pregnancy decisions of minors?
What other factors affect attitudes toward parental
involvement in abortion and pregnancy decisions?
Rights and Consent
The U.S. States vary in terms of consent requirements.
Some require one parent and others require two parents to give consent. Some require notification. There
are procedures to bypass parental involvement such as by involving a
grandparent or allowing a judge to decide. Also, special circumstances can
obviate the need for parent consent such as incest or a medical emergency.
The researchers (Lindsey et al) found that other writers identified
religion as a significant predictor of attitudes toward abortion. Appropriately,
the researchers note differences in how scientists account for the religious
factor. Some have looked at religious affiliation such as being
a Catholic or Protestant. But others have looked at more detailed ways to gauge
religiosity. For example, the authors refer to the value of devotionalism
as a predictor—the extent of involvement in religious activities like prayer
and attending services. Another take on religiosity is the degree of orthodoxy—traditional
beliefs. Another factor is evangelism—a focus on converting
others to the faith. In the study, the researchers used scales with acceptable
reliability values.
The researchers also looked at a quest orientation (briefly,
religious life as a search for truth and meaning) and a multidimensional
religious scale of beliefs and practices.
In the U.S., there are two major political parties—Republicans
and Democrats. The authors asked about
party affiliation because Republicans generally oppose pro-choice positions and
favor parental involvement more than do Democrats. Finally, the researchers
considered characteristics of the participants such as race and gender as well
as their attribution style (a focus on personal vs. situational factors).
Selected Outcomes
There were 267 undergraduates from the Western U.S. who
completed the questionnaires.
The highest support was for clauses that required one
parent to give consent (compared to two parent consent or notification only clauses).
When the researchers looked at predictors, they found
political party was strong—as expected, those who identified as Republicans
were more supportive of parental involvement.
The groups were especially different for the more restrictive clauses—favored
by Republicans.
Women were less likely to support two-parent consent than
were men.
Religious factors varied. Religious affiliation was of
low value as a predictor. And several factors did not predict support for parental involvement—devotionalism,
evangelism, and quest.
Thoughts
The sample. Like most, these researchers admitted to limitations in
the study. But this is one case where
evaluating the attitudes of college students can be appropriate in that
minority status is not far in the past and to some extent, many U.S. college
students have not achieved full independence from their parents. It would be helpful to appreciate the perspective of
minors and parents of adolescent young women.
Measuring religion. The inclusion of several measures to identify multiple
dimensions of religion or spirituality is a plus. It is always possible to
argue about what measure is best. Fortunately, the days of just looking at
self-reported denominational affiliation or church attendance are disappearing
from research.
Politics and Religion. The idea of considering politics and religion in one
study makes sense. Both can be powerful influences on how people live their lives. And politics seems
like a religion for many people. For those of you not in the U.S., conservative
Christians
are considered highly influential in the Republican Party.
Confound? Perhaps, in measuring political party affiliation, the
researchers were also measuring Christian values about abortion and parental rights. This could explain the lower predictive power of the religious variables.
Sex and Influence. Most U.S. girls and boys, men and women, have sex outside of marriage. Religious teaching against sex and contraception may influence the rate of pregnancy as will political action. Neither religion nor political action inhibits unmarried persons from having sex. The decisions that individuals and groups make are matters of life and death. And the quality of life for girls and their babies can last a lifetime.
Boys as Fathers. And by the way, does anyone care about the father of the child? Does he have a say in what happens to his child? Under what conditions ought the father to be included or excluded?
Boys as Fathers. And by the way, does anyone care about the father of the child? Does he have a say in what happens to his child? Under what conditions ought the father to be included or excluded?
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Reference
Lindsey, S. C., Sigillo, A.E., Miller, M.K. (2013).
Attitudes toward parental involvement clauses in minor abortion laws and individual
differences in religion, political affiliation, and attribution style among college students. Individual Differences
Research, 11, 59-69.
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