FREE ESSAY ON TEENAGE PARENTS

TEENAGE PARENTS

STRESS AND COPING MANAGEMENT OF TEENAGE PARENTS
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Life is a series of choices. Deciding whether to marry, whether to have children, whether
to have two careers in one marriage, and whether to view a situation positively are among
the more important choices you will ever make in your lifetime. And besides of all this
choices, problems may appear and turn to stress that people encounter in daily living.
Stress is the wear and tear our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually
changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive
or negative feelings. As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to action; it
can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a negative influence,
it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger and depression, which in turn can
lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high
blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. With the death of loved one, the birth of the
child, a job promotion, or a new relationship, we experience stress as we readjust our
lives. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or hinder us
depending on how we react to it. Moreover, stress is, of course, an inevitable part of
every one's life. Some stress is essential, and some is actually energizing. As a leading
researcher said, complete freedom from stress is death ( Selye, 1980).
On the other hand, early marriage can lead to a couple a number of potential problem.
Couple should be aware all the possible difficulties which could lie ahead. There's a lot
of problems that may arise in early marriage. Like for instance, the problem of adequate
financial support is obvious. Although money does not buy happiness, it is true a tight
financial situation can create tensions, which can undermine an otherwise happy
relationship. While some financial problems are to be expected in almost any new
marriage, it is important to take time to think sensibly, so that such problems will not
destroy what could otherwise be a beautiful relationship, if not undertaken prematurely.
Money, according to Coleman (1984), ranks as the single most common cause of conflict in
marriage. These are conflicts over who earns the money, who spends much on what and who
manages the money in terms of paying bills, borrowing and investing. Pietropinto and
Siminauer found out that not only is money a major source of conflict in marriage but
also that debts are the greatest crisis in marriage (Coleman, 1984).
According to Leslie (1980), financial adjustments problems vary over the life cycle.
Young married couples generally must start almost from scratch and purchase virtually
everything required to run a household. On one income, this is difficult, but on two
income, it is easier. 
This is not to suggest that you will wait about marriage until every possible financial
problem has been completely solved, but rather simply suggests that you do not close your
eyes to the real situation whatever it may be. Although some newly married couples find
it necessary to temporarily make their home with their parents, this is generally not a
wise choice unless absolutely necessary and then only for as short a period of time as
possible.
A second problem which must be faced by those who enter into an early marriage is the
problem of personal maturity. While immature and irresponsible actions may sometimes seem
funny before marriage, they can become serious pitfalls within the marriage bond. This is
one reason why a courtship of at least several months should precede any marriage, since
even the most irresponsible and self-centered person put on a good front for a few weeks
or months. One of the surest signs of immaturity and irresponsibility in both young men
and young women is a lack of willingness to do a reasonable share of work in a
consistent, dependable way prior to marriage. When such an indifferent attitude is
demonstrated before marriage, you can be sure that it is only likely to become worse
after marriage. 
. A third potential problem to be considered is the problem of growing apart. This simply
means that while two young people in their middle teenage years have much in common, that
in many cases, our ideals and goals change as we pass the teenage years, to such extent
that we may easily find ourselves married for life to a person with whom we will
ultimately have very little in common. 
Perhaps the worst mistake of all is to marry simply to get away from an unpleasant
situation at home. Even if you are presently facing home problems which seem almost
unbearable, you will not have to remain in such a situation forever. When you marry,
however, it is for life. So don't let current personal problems drive you into a marriage
which you may otherwise not really want. Such a choice usually proves to be a very poor
trade indeed, and one that often leads to a lifetime of regret. 
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 
Selye (1982), the father of stress research, defines stress as a stimulus event of
sufficient severity to produce disequilibrium in the homeostatic physiological systems.
Stress also has been conceptualized variously as a nonspecific response of the body to
any demand that exceedsthe person's ability to cope, as a person- environment
relationship that threatens or taxes personal resources, and as a mental state in
response to strain or daily hassles ( Lazarus and Launier, 1978; Lazarus, De Longis,
Folkman, and Gruen, 1985; Rutter, 1983).
Stress can be caused by both positive and negative things in one's life. A little stress
is not unhealthy, but too much stress and tension can cause serious illnesses, headaches,
hostility and emotional disorders. Dealing with stress and knowing how to spot the things
that cause it ( called stressors)are extremely important. People who are stress survivors
stay healthy through the worst of times. They consider stressful situations opportunities
for growth. 
On the other hand, there are four factors that can cause stress namely: 
1. Change. ( Lazarus) identified two types of daily events involving change such as
negative and positive side. On the negative side are hassles, which are the irritating,
frustrating, or distressing incidents that occur in our everyday transactions with the
environment. Common hassles include misplacing or losing things, having too many things
to do, and being concern about physical appearance. On the positive side are uplifts,
which include such pleasures as completing a task, visiting or phoning a friend, and
feeling healthy.
2. Unpredictability is stressful because you cannot plan for these random events- you
have to be constantly  on your toes. For example, you know that you will graduate from
college on a certain date, and if you are planning a wedding, you probably will know many
months in advance the date on which you will get married. 
3. Lack of control. Many events in our environment may be particularly stressful because
they emphasize our vulnerability and lack of control.
4. Conflict, which is a state that occurs when a person is motivated to choose between
two or more mutually exclusive goals or courses of action. Investigators have identified
four major types of categories of conflict ( Lewin 1931; Miller, 1944). These are :
Approach- approach conflict: which involves a choice between two attractive goals;
Avoidance-avoidance conflict: this type of conflict results when people must choose
between two unattractive goals; Approach-avoidance conflict: involves only one goal which
has both attractive and unattractive qualities; double-approach-avoidance conflict: this
type of conflict result when a person has to choose between two goals, each of which has
both positive and negative qualities.
Selye's view is that human beings do not always react to stress in the uniform way he
proposed. There is much more to understanding stress in humans than knowing their
physical reactions to it. We also need to know about their personality, their physical
makeup, their perceptions, and the context in which the stressor occurred (Hobfoll,1989;
Parker, Finkel, and indice, 1993 ). The severity of stress consequences depends partly on
how a man understands and feels about the stressor. (Donald Meichenbaum) suggested that
the stress response be divided into four separate phases: preparing for a stressor,
confronting or handling a stressor, possibly being overwhelmed by a stressor, and
finally, reinforcing oneself for having coped.
Selye, a Montreal, Canada, Physician and Author of several books on stress, feels that
ther is a type of stress that can be harmful. He calls it distress. Distress is continual
stress that causes you to constantly readjust or adapt
In this connection, Doctors suggest some guidelines on how to live with stress:
1. Work off stress- if you are angry or upset, try to blow off steam physically by
activities such as running, playing tennis, or gardening and also even taking a walk.
Physical activity allows you a fight outlet for mental stress.
2. Talk out your worries - it helps to share worries with someone you trust and respect.
This may be a friend, family member, teacher or counselor.
3. Learn to accept what you can't change - if the problem is beyond your control at this
time, try your best to accept it until you can change it.
4. Avoid self-medication.
5. Get enough sleep and rest- lack of sleep can lessen your ability ti deal with stress
by making you more irritable. 
6. Balance work and creation- all work and no play can make Jack a nervous wreck.
Schedule time for recreation to relax your mind.
7. Do something for others - sometimes when you are distressed, you concentrate too much
on yourself and your situation. When this happens, it is often wise to do something for
someone else, and get your mind off of yourself.
8. Take one thing at a time- it is defeating to tackle all your tasks at once. Instead,
set some aside and work on the most urgent
9. Give in once in a while- if you find the source of stress is other people try giving
in instead of fighting and insisting you are always right
10. Make yourself available- when you are bored and feel left out, go where the action is
!Sitting alone will just make you more frustrated.
Stress is a personal matter. How much stress we experience is determined by the quality
and intensity of a combination of variables: the dimensions of the stressor, the way we
interpret the meaning of the stressor, the resources we have available to deal with the
stressor, and the amount and nature of the total strain placed on the individual.
COPING STRATEGIES
Coping is the process of managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve
personal and interpersonal problems, and seeking to master, minimize, reduce or tolerate
stress and conflict. A stressful event can be rendered considerably less stressful if a
person successfully cope with it. Successful coping depends on two factors:
problem-solving and emotional self-regulation. Some individual have been hardy because
they seem able to transform potentially stressful situations into less stressful
experiences. Several techniques have been practically used or applied by individual to
deal life demands more effectively with stress : 
1. Progressive relaxation : the alternate tensing and relaxing of different muscle groups
of the in a specific sequence; 
2. Autogenic training : a relaxation produce that depends on self-suggestion and
amagery;
3. Biofeed back : a form of operant conditioning design to make people aware of an
unconscious physiological response so they can learn to control it (Bower, 1987).
White (1974) refers to three components of the coping process:
1. The ability to gain and process new information;
2. The ability to maintain control over one's emotional; and 
3. The ability to move freely with in one's environment.
In addition, the study of Mariquit (1997), identified three coping styles that the people
deals with the stressors in their lives. These are cognitive coping strategies,
problem-focused, and emotion-focused strategies. That according to Ellis and Bernard
(1985) cognitive coping strategies involved changing how people interpret stressors.
Cognitive coping strategies help people think more clearly, rationally and constructively
in the face of the stress. Cognitive styles does not eliminate the stressors, but it can
make it less threatening and disruptive. Cognitive coping replaces catastropic thinking
with thought in which stressors are viewed as challenges rather than threats to
self-steem. Many people manage stress and anxiety with cognitive coping strategies, that
they prepare themselves from pressure through gradual exposure to increasingly higher
levels of stress. (Janis, 1985). Study by Lazarus and Allport (1985) suggest that people
can learn to manage their stress stress to some extent by thought processes. A major role
of the current research is to prepare people to react in constructive ways to early signs
of stress. Each individual deals with stressful situation in his or her unique way, often
using a combination of problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies. In most instances,
problem solving is the healthier approach but not all problems can be solved. In such
instances as an incapacitating illness or the loss of a loved one, individuals may need
to reduce emotional distress until they can face the situation in its entirely. We often
use emotion-focused coping to maintain hope, to keep our moral so that we can continue to
function. In general, emotion-focused forms of coping occur when a person is experiencing
a high level of stress and has decided that nothing can be done to modify the threatening
conditions. Problem-focused forms of coping, on the other hand, are more probable at
moderate level of stress, where the situation is appraised as changeable (Lazarus and
Folkman, 1984).
Furthermore, coping strategies can also be categorized as active-cognitive;
active-behavioral; and avoidance strategies (Billings, Cronkite, Moss, 1983;Billings and
Moss, 1981). Active-cognitive are coping responses in which individual actively think
about a situation in an effort to adjust more effectively. For example, if you have a
problem that involved braking up with a husband or wife, you may have coped by using
logical reasoning about why you would be better off in the long run being out of this
relationship. You might have also analyzed why the relationship did not work.
Active-behavioral strategies are coping responses in which individual take some type of
action to improve their problem situation. For example, a couples problem might get some
help from the other people, like a counselor. Avoidance coping strategies are responses
that individuals use to keep stressful circumstances out of awareness so they do not have
to deal with them. Everything we know about coping suggests that avoidance strategies can
be extremely harmful to individuals adjustments when they are used for more than a brief
relief from experiencing stress. For example, of having a marital problems, an avoidance
strategy is to simply do nothing about the problem concerns. 
In another respect, one who make full adjustment to his environments, his social being,
and other people is one that who easily relate their experiences, feeling and emotions to
the people whom the interact with. Some people say that they share affection in order to
gain more or less the same from others and try to get along with them and be able to form
close and satisfying relationships with others and believed that when problems are shared
they are lighten.
Social support of other people is a significant factor in relieving marital stress (Bunk
and Janssen, 1987). Moreover, according to Robert L. Khan (1986), there is only one
anti-stressors that helps in almost all situations - having a strong system of social
support. Friends and family can provide an objective view of problem and they can also
give encouraging feedback as couple make progress in learning how to handle stress
better. Considerable research now indicates that social support reduces or buffers the
adverse psychological impact of exposure to stressful life events and on going life
strains (Cohenand Wills, 1985.)
In addition, acquiring social support can be away of coping with stress caused by the
problems and conflicts encountered in everyday life. Ensel and Len (1989) said that if we
consider life stress as the aspect of the social environment having a detrimental effect
on well-being, then it is reasonable to expect that there are aspects in the social
environment that enhance one's ability either to improve well-being to counter potential
adverse effects of life stress. The authors defined social support as the process by
which resources in the social structure are brought to bear to meet the functional needs
in routine and crisis situations. Zimbardo (1992) adopt a similar concept of social
support as referring to the sources others provide, giving the message that one is loved,
cared for , esteemed, and connected to other people in a network of communication and
mutual obligation. Zimbardo further mentioned that we all cope with stress as
individuals, but, for a lifetime of effective coping and for the continued success of our
species, it is necessary for as to form alliances with others. Isolation can lead to
inadequate coping and can itself be the cause of stress. Contemporary research shows that
being a part of a social support network and living and working in a healthy environment
leads to an improvement in coping. 
RELATED STUDIES
However, many discover that getting married was a desperate flight to intimacy and being
married becomes a burdensome pressure to escape aloneness and freedom (Lester, 1979 ).
This is one of the reasons why many end up in divorce and separation which define the
unstable marriage of a couple. Furthermore, the Juvenile Delinquents Court, Quezon City
has a record nearly one thousand person who applied for annulment of marriage or legal
separation ( Record Book,1975. The main cause of this is early marriage. However, early
marriage is not an easy one, it can lead you to problem as a result of stress. Marriage
is not just an adventure but a lifetime commitment. It is the foundation of the family
and an inviolable social institution ( Article 1, Family Code ). Therefore, if you
planned to marry be sure and be aware a number of potential problems which are
encountered by a marriage couple. According to ( Roberta Flack ),  Getting married is
easy. Staying married is difficult. Staying happily married for a lifetime should rank
among the fine arts.
Recent studies reveal that one of the most sought changes in a married couple's life, the
birth of their first child, is also a source of major stress, contributing to reduced
marital satisfaction ( Cowan and Cowan, 1988 ).
Hundreds of studies demonstrate beyond doubt that teenage marriages are high-risk
marriage. A few succeed, most fail. The great dream of happiness and lasting romance
disappears under the burdens, monotomy and routine of earning. Cooking, paying bills,
housekeeping , caring for children , and being excluded from the teenage groups (Landis,
1977).
As seen from statistical studies the optimum age for success in marriage is between ages
21-29 for women and between ages 24-29 for men. (Gilmer, 1977).
Furthermore, a study conducted by Landis (1979) revealed that the younger the person at
marriage, the greater the likelihood of failure. Failure runs up to 75% among the younger
marriages. Part of the reasons is that young marriages are forced by pregnancy. 
Some researchers have viewed stress as resulting from exposure to major life changes or
life events ( Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend, 1974; Dohrenwend and Shrout
others may face complications in giving birth. Newborn children of teenage mothers often
have low birth weights and higher than average incidence of serious birth defects. Infant
mortality rates are also high among children born to very young mothers (Neubeck,1991).
2) Teenage mothers often do not complete high school, and may live below the poverty
level (Atkinson, et al,1990). 3) Teen-age mother's lack of knowledge of maternal and
child health care puts a great strain not only to her and the baby also on her own family
who often times carries the burden of caring for pregnant adolescents.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The family cannot be understood in isolation from the rest of society. It is integrated
into the community and culture to which it belongs. What takes place in the family is
highly dependent on and related to that which takes place in other aspects of society
(Medina, 1991)
Today, more and more social scientist and population experts are focusing their attention
on the increasing number of teenage pregnancies worldwide. There is indeed enough cause
for such concern. Most of the teenagers who admitted having engaged in premarital sex
eventually encountered the problem of pregnancy. Findings of a National Research Council
(1987), revealed that teenage pregnancy rate in the United Stated is one of the highest
in the world. In 1984 alone, 1 million teenage girls and 10% of all teenage girls in the
nation become pregnant. About half had their babies, 13% miscarried, and 40% had abortion
(National Research Council, NRC, 1987) . Furthermore the first Interhemispheric
Conference on Adolescent Fertility in the Philippines revealed that close to 13 million
girls who become married in 1975 where teenagers. With regards to adolescent fertility
situation in the nation, local expert have found the increase in teenage pregnancies in
the Philippines (Bernales, 1985).
Dreyer (1982) suggest several reasons for early expression of sexual behavior; 1)
Adolescents are reaching sexual maturity at younger ages than in previous decades; 2)
Knowledge and use of contraception are becoming more wide spread, thus eliminating fears
of pregnancy; 3) Adults' sexual attitudes and behavior are changing; 4) Adolescents
consider sexual behavior normal in an intimate relationship (Lefton, 1991).
However , the consequences of teenage pregnancy are great. To name a few, these are : 1).
The younger the age at which pregnancy occurs, the higher the probability that the mother
and child will have serious health problem. Young mothers may face complications in
giving birth. Newborn children of teenage mothers often have low birth weights and higher
than average incidence of serious birth defects. Infant mortality rates are also high
among children born to very young mothers (Neubeck, 1991). 2). Teenage mothers often do
not complete high school, and may live below the poverty levels (Atkinson, et al, 1990).
3). Teenage mothers lack of knowledge of maternal and child health care puts a great
strain not only to her and the baby also on her family who often times carries the burden
of caring for pregnant adolescents.
Teenage marriage is a worldwide phenomenon in which thousands of teenagers make terrible
mistakes because of not knowing how to handle adolescents' emotions. Some who are
misinterpreting their feelings of love leap into premature marriages. Many married
couples who opt to stay together may not really be happy. They stay married for the seek
of the children, or for religion or financial reasons. But actually they find that they
are not really in love at all. Since eros or erotic love is a natural love, as also
philia love, (Rosenbaum, 1979), it is natural that when couples spend a lot of times
together they begin to think about building a permanent relationship. 
In the researcher's observation, many Filipinos marry at young age, usually before
reaching the age of twenty. In rural areas, teenage marriages occur as early as thirteen
years old because of lack of opportunities to pursue other activities like going to
school that can divert the attention of young people towards the powerful stimulation of
sex and the attraction of the opposite sex.
Burchinal, (1977), has done a great deal of research on young marriages. Young marriages
are arbitrarily defined as those entered at under 19 years of age. Individuals who select
a mate in the younger age groups have certain characteristics that distinguish from the
older group. Burchinal found that early marriages: 1). Usually involve young girls and
their slightly older husbands. 2). Involve premarital pregnancies in between
approximately one third to one half of all cases. 3). Disproportionately involve persons
with lower or working class backgrounds.
Another studies of young marriages indicates that girls who marry young are emotionally
less stable than those who marry later and they have less satisfactory relationships with
their parental families.
Burchinal suggests that the rates of young marriage may go down in the near future. He
thinks if possible that increasingly greater value attached to extending education will
have an impact on young marriages: Increased school and post-high school attendance
should be associated with a reduction in young marriage rates. Among 17-year-olds,
schooled dropout rates declined from 32% in 1950 to 24% in 1960. But while marriage
frequently leads to ending formal education if the individuals are in high school it is
much less apt to have the same negative effect when the couple are older and in college.
There is some evidence to support Burnichal's contention. Parke and Glick show that 23%
of all the women who were 30 to 34 years of age had married before 18.  The rate of early
teenage marriages is successively smaller for each younger group of women. Only 15% of
all the women who are currently 18 and 19 years old married before age 18.
However ,there are variations in age at marriage related to certain social variables. For
example, early marriage has a strong attraction for some young people. Some see early
marriage as the best means to achieve adult status and related privileges. It is also
seen as providing a daily and nightly partner who serves to reduce the psychological cost
extracted from the alone individual by the mobility-achievement system which pervades
much of our society. In other words, early marriage is seen by many as providing them
with a  significant other at a time when they have a strong need for that type of
relationships.
As suggested earlier, there are also possible negative consequences to early marriage.
The earlier the marriage the more apt it is to be dissolved by the couple. Also, the
earlier the marriage, the more likely it is to be characterized by negative effects. Very
often the question of success or failure in a marriage may be less determined by
chronological age than by personal and social maturity. 
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Marriage involves critical planning. Any action taken may result with gains and losses.
If the partners are indifferent towards the factors that contribute to success, their
marriage will become worthless. But if the factors are given priority, they will gain a
meaningful marriage. Early marriage below twenty years old, may be considered as an
offshoot to some factors such as emotional, financial, religion, age, and educational
attainment.
This study assumes that families of today are endangered and reason for this phenomenon
is the rapid change in society norms and conditions caused by urbanization and
industrialization (Medina, 1991). As a result, the family is encountering new and more
complex stressors as compared to the stressors faced by the family of yesterday. 
Following this concept, the reaserchers in this study has identified three stressors
namely: Financial factors, psychological factors, and social factors.
Financial refers to insufficient income/earnings not enough to sustain the needs of the
family. Financial difficulties are usually handled by couples through budgetting or
borrowing money usually from relatives and close friends (Leslie, 1980).
Psychological refers to the negative perception or interpretation o fthings of events. It
may be either frustration or conflict (Sferra, 1961).
In this study, it involves emotional-refers to negative affect of feelings;
behavioral-refers to negative acts or behavior; and cognitive-refers to negative thinking
and perceiving.
Social, pertaining to man as living to society (Webster Dictionary, 1967) As used in this
study, it refers to the interaction of teenage man and woman with other people or
friends.
Coping strategies are the means of dealing with the perceived threat of various types of
stressors. A person cannot avoid stress but he can learn to cope with it. There are two
main types of coping identified in this study. These are negative and positive coping
approaches. Positive coping is confronting the problems through positive action or
through realistic problem-solving activities. Negative coping is confronting the problems
through negative action. The concept of this paper is illustrated in the schematic
diagram, below.
Figure 1. Schematic Diagram
Stressors Teenage married Coping 
?Financial Factors couple ?Positive
?Psychological Factors ?Negative
?Social Factors 
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study aims to determine the stresses and coping strategies encountered by Teenage
Parents.
Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:
a. Age
b. Occupation
c. Number of children
d. Educational attainment
2. What i
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