Life skills for pregnant teenagers : a program development plan

Perceived control is of significance in occupational therapy, as revealed in empirical research and suggested in practice models. This study investigated the relationship between perceived control and occupational performance in persons with long-term mental illness. The 177 participants were assessed regarding perceived control (locus of control and self-mastery) and occupational performance (activity level and satisfaction with daily occupations). Subgroups with respect to diagnosis and having gainful employment or not were also explored concerning the targeted association. The results indicated relationships between perceived LIFE SKILLS FOR TEENS PROGRAM 101 control and occupational performance in the sample as a whole and in all subgroups except that representing people engaged in gainful employment or education. The latter was a surprising result, considering that the importance of perceived control was originally identified in the work science area. The results strongly supported that perceived control should be included in the clinical reasoning of occupational therapists working in mental health care. Summary and Significance: Although this study focuses on people with long-term mental illness, it still applies to pregnant teenagers. It is likely that a lot of the pregnant teenagers that will be seen will have kind of mental illness. This may be depression, bi-polar, etc. It will important for the occupational therapist to understand how to deal with persons that have a mental illness. This population may also be feeling a loss of control over their own life. The study showed that people not working or studying were more likely to have an external locus of control, or feel that they do not control their own fate. It will be important to keep the girls in school or to find a job in order to increase their internal locus of control. An increase in perceived control will help the pregnant teenagers to participate in meaningful occupations. Esdaile, S. A. , and Olson, J. A. (Eds.). (2004). Mothering occupations: Challenge, agency, and participation. Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis. Summary: This book provides a scholarly and interdisciplinary approach to exploring the influences of mothering. The authors provide information on health, disability, society, culture, and gender orientation. The mother’s stories included in this book discuss the challenges of mothering from illness, disability, and social and environmental disadvantages. The contents of the book include LIFE SKILLS FOR TEENS PROGRAM 102 information on everyday challenges of mothering occupations, mothering occupations in the context of special challenges, and mothering occupations in the context of children with special needs. The new roles of parenting are discussed from an occupational viewpoint. An entire chapter is devoted to teenage mothers and the roles, occupations, and societal challenges that might be faced. A phenomenological study was conducted to capture the lived experiences of the teenage mothers. A semi-structured interview format was conducted with the teenage mothers. During the interview the researchers administered the Adolescent Roles Assessment. The study found that a majority of the teenage mothers interviewed had goals of continuing education and having a better life, but did not have the skills or know how to reach those goals. The teenage mothers also had difficulty identifying social interactions and engaging in school activities. This book stresses the point that mothering is an occupation and involves life-altering choices. Both editors of the book are occupational therapist, making the information very occupation based. This book is important and informative on the new roles and expectations a mother will experience. Fasoli, S. E. (2008). Restoring Competence for homemaker and parent roles. In M. V. Radomski & C. A. Trombly Latham (Eds., 6 ed.), pp. 854-874. Summary and Significance: Restoring competence in homemaker and parenting roles can greatly enhance one’s sense of efficacy and feelings of self-esteem. There are many items to consider within these roles when planning interventions. Some activities to consider include food preparation, cooking, dishwashing, grocery shopping, clothing care, household maintenance, and outdoor household maintenance. When thinking about parenting roles, the occupational therapist must consider the LIFE SKILLS FOR TEENS PROGRAM 103 child’s age, activity level, and the home environment. Caring for children under the age of 4 is physically demanding and can contribute to musculoskeletal pain. Safety is very important to consider when dealing with parenting roles. When bathing a child, it is important to educate teenagers on gathering the needed essentials prior to starting the bath. It is also very important to educate the young girls on never leaving an infant alone in the bath. While much of this chapter dealt with parenting roles for persons with disabilities, it is still applicable to adolescents without disabilities. These girls will most importantly need to learn the safety skills that go into the daily routines of becoming a parent. Finer, L. B. , & Henshaw, S. K. (2006). Disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, 1994 and 2001. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 38 (2), 90-96. Summary: Many pregnancies are unintended, especially in certain population groups. These authors wanted to help with determining whether unintended pregnancy rates and disparities in rates between subgroups are changing which may help policymakers target reproductive health services to those women in need. In 2001, 49% of pregnancies in the United States were unintended. The unintended pregnancy rate was 5 per 1,000 women ages 15-44. Living in poverty is very common with early parenthood. Low-income women have high rates of unintended pregnancies. This population is more likely to not use any form of birth control and if contraceptives are used, these women experience higher rates of method failure. Of the 6.4 million pregnancies in the United States in 2001, 4.0 million resulted in births, 1.3 million in abortions, and 1.1 million in fetal losses. Almost half of these pregnancies were unintended. With the unintended pregnancies, 44% ended in birth, 42% ended in abortion, and LIFE SKILLS FOR TEENS PROGRAM 104 14% in fetal losses. The unintended pregnancy rate was highest among women 18-19 years of age during the year 2001. Unintended pregnancy was also twice as high in cohabiting women as that of married or unmarried women. Knowing the population of unintended pregnancies is important when targeting a life skill program for pregnant women. Teenagers are more likely to experience an unintended pregnancy. If they are also from a low income family then their chances are even higher. The propose Life Skill program will be targeted specifically towards those teenagers that come from a low-income family. Finlayson, M. , Baker, M. , Rodman, L. , & Herzberg, G. (2002). The process and outcomes of a multimethod needs assessment at a homeless shelter. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56, 313–321. Abstract: Many factors contribute to homelessness, including extreme poverty, extended periods of unemployment, shortages of low-income housing, deinstutionalization, and substance abuse. As a result, the needs of people who are homeless are broad and complex. This needs assessment used literature reviews, review of local documents and reports, participant observation, focus groups, and reflective journals to guide the development of an occupational performance skills program at one homeless shelter in south Florida. Through these methods, the role of occupational therapy was extended beyond direct service to include program and resource development, staff education, advocacy, and staff-resident mediation. The findings of the needs assessment and the actions taken as a result of this work point to the huge potential for LIFE SKILLS FOR TEENS PROGRAM 105 occupational therapists and students to work together with staff and residents of homeless shelters. Summary and Significance: The needs assessment that was conducted identified that occupational therapists don’t only provide direct services to the homeless participants. It was also found important for the occupational therapists to be consultants, educators, mediators, and advocates. A lot of educating was for the staff at the homeless shelter. The clients that participated in this needs assessment focused on communication skills, job finding, interviewing skills, developing computer skills, finding inexpensive leisure activities, and finding and maintaining a home. The needs assessment increased the awareness of the complexities of developing services in a shelter. Conducting a needs assessment is important when developing any new programs in order to better understand the needs of the staff, community, and residents. The homeless population was shown to have a unique set of needs and this is important to remember when dealing with pregnant teenagers. It is expected that many from this population may be homeless or come from extreme poverty. Fowler, F. J. (1993). Survey research methods (2 ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Summary & Significance: There are many different methods to collect data. One method that is commonly used is the use of surveys. The purpose of surveys is to produce statistics that provide numerical descriptions about some aspects of the population being studied. If interviews are incorporated, Fowler states that it is important to provided standardized questions. This will help to decrease the biases in the answers that are provided. It also helps to increase interviewer consistency LIFE SKILLS FOR TEENS PROGRAM 106 when standardized questions are provided. When conducting a survey some critical issues to consider is who will actually be sampled, the size of the sample, and what rate of response is