Teenage pregnancy: on the road to social death

This paper describes research into perceptions of teenage pregnancy at two different demographical locations in the UK. Ninety-five semi-structured in terviews were conducted on a teenage pregnant population and a non-pregnant teenage population. Thematic analysis revealed three levels of influence c ausing social pressures on the teenage pregnancy and were structured as pri mary, secondary and subordinate depending on the emphasis within the discou rse analysis. From this binary oppositions were identified which formed the theoretical constructs relating to the transition from one state to anothe r which can be termed 'becoming'. When these states are negatively perceive d they cause a form of impending doom and create social exclusion for the r ecipient. Finally, it was revealed that they succumb to the weight of socia l sanction and feel the prophecy of a 'social death'. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.