'Someone of your own to love': Experiences of being looked after as influences on teenage pregnancy

Abigail Knight, Elaine Chase*, Peter Aggleton

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Previous research has shown that children and young people who are looked after are vulnerable to poor life outcomes, including early pregnancy. This paper examines how experiences of being looked after may contribute to teenage pregnancy. Using in-depth interviews, data were collected from 63 young people recently looked after who are aged 15-24 and 78 professionals, across four research sites. The young people reported feelings of loneliness, rejection, stigma and not being able to trust others, emotions which seriously influenced their decisions about becoming parents. The findings suggest that such young people may benefit from a greater degree of emotional and practical support throughout their lives in care.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)391-403
Number of pages13
JournalChildren and Society
Volume20
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2006
Externally publishedYes

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