School Dropout Due to Pregnancy and Parent-Presence in the Household in South Africa

Nicole De Wet, University of the Witwatersrand
Sibusiso Mkwananzi, University of the Witwatersrand

Teenage pregnancies in South Africa remain largely unintended either being mistimed or unwanted. Factors contributing to teen pregnancy in the country include gender inequality, forced sexual initiation, gender-based violence, poor access to contraceptives and termination of pregnancies, negative attitudes of health care workers, inconsistent and incorrect use of contraceptives, poverty, larger household size, poor sex education, not living with the biological father, talking openly about sex with a boyfriend, perceiving most friends to be pregnant. The implications of teen pregnancy are non-completion of secondary school, poverty and exposure of adolescent girls to higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV infection.This paper aims to examine the association between school dropout due to pregnancy among adolescent girls and parent presence within the household in South Africa. The data used in this cross-sectional study is from the Survey of Activities of Young People and 29 721 pregnant teens are the sample.