Ibadan Journal of the Social Sciences
Volume 16, No. 1, 2018
DOI: 10.36108/ijss/8102.61.0120
Coping Abilities: The Role of Self Esteem and Self Efficacy among Pregnant Teenage Girls in Ibadan, Oyo State
Shygle Kolawole Balogun1, Sulaimon Olatunji Kasali2, Saheed Olayinka Bello3 and Abisola Oreoluwa Areola4
1,2,3,4Department of Psychology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Abstract
Studies have affirmed that the psycho-social vulnerabilities associated with first-time pregnancy can be further exaggerated when the primiparous mother is a teenager and unmarried at the time of (first) conception. Here we investigate the influence of self-esteem, self-efficacy and chronological age on the coping ability of pregnant teenagers in six randomly selected local government areas in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Sixty participants between the ages of 13-19, with a mean age of 16 from Ido, Akinyele, Ona-Ara, Egbeda, Oluyole and Lagelu LGAs of Ibadan metropolis were examined using a descriptive survey research design. Results show that self-efficacy has a significant main influence on coping abilities among teenage pregnant girls (F (1, 56) = 10.67, p < .05), and pregnant teenagers with high self-efficacy reported significantly higher coping abilities ( x=65.19) than those with low self-efficacy (x =59.28). However, self-esteem (f (1, 56) = 0.947, p > .05); and age at first conception at (t (58) = -.276, p > .05), were found to have no statistical significant influence on coping abilities among pregnant teenagers in this study. In that same pattern, there was no significant interaction influence of self-efficacy and self-esteem on coping abilities (F (1, 56) = 0.942, p > .05). The implication of these findings for policy and further studies are discussed in the light of reviewed literature.
Keywords: Teenage pregnancy, adolescence, coping abilities, self-esteem, self-efficacy