| Summary: | Magister Social Work -MSW === Teenage parenting is recognised as one of the greatest health and social problems
in South Africa. Research in South Africa has shown that by the age of 18 years,
more than 30% of teens have given birth at least once. Teen mothers may feel
disempowered because they are ‘othered’ and consequently, may develop forms of
resistance which in most cases may inhibit their ability to parent. Social support is
therefore, an imperative intervention for successful teen parenting.
Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological systems theory proposes that social support could
be considered to reside within the microsystem of the model if the developing
person is the teen mother. The aim of this study was to compare social support of
different family forms and establish whether a relationship between single teen
mothers’ parental efficacy and social support exists across the different family
forms. This study used a quantitative methodology with a cross-sectional
comparative correlation design. The sample consisted of N = 160 single teen
mothers who reside with her family for a period of one year or is currently residing
with her family or members thereof, in low socio-economic communities. The
participants completed a self-report questionnaire that comprised of the Social
Provisions Scale (SPS), and the Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) scale.
Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were used to investigate the data.
Outcomes of the study indicated that a significant positive relationship between
social support and parental efficacy existed. These findings are important for
planning and applying parenting programmes amongst single teen mothers and
facilitating awareness regarding the importance of social support and family forms
when considering parenting practices.
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