Study Description
This study sought to examine the underlying drivers of teenage pregnancy, a major risk factor for HIV/AIDS infection among African American youth living in Macon, Georgia. Of the many consequences of risky sexual behavior, teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS remain fundamental health epidemics affecting youth in Georgia. Teenage pregnancy is of particular concern for HIV/AIDS risk, not only because it is an indication of unsafe sex, but because, pregnancy at a young age thrusts a teenager into a new “world” characterized by low educational attainment, poverty, disenfranchisement, and repeat pregnancies. The extent to which we understand the underlying factors that predispose young African American youth in Macon to first-time teenage pregnancy and repeat teenage pregnancies may be the extent to which we can redress the spread of HIV/AIDS in this population, in Macon and the middle Georgia corridor.
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Data collection for this study involved in-depth interviews with teen mothers, emerging adults who were teen mothers, middle-aged mothers who were teen mothers and grandmothers who were teen mothers living in Macon. Two focus groups were also conducted, which included women from different age groups, young men and adult men living in Macon.
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Funding: $4,000 from Faculty Development Seed Grant, Mercer University
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Study Duration: July 2017-May 2018
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