The Pregnant High School Girl: An Analysis and a Proposal.

The article discusses major changes in the marriage customs and in sex norms in contemporary American culture. The changes taking place in sex mores are clearly shown by the fact that unwed pregnancies among girls aged 15 to 19 have more than doubled within the last 20 years. Census data show that in 1940 there were 6.58 such pregnancies per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 years. In 1945 the rate was 8.55 per 1,000 girls, in 1950 it was 10.56, in 1955 it was 12.52, and in 1957 it was 13.11 per 1000 girls. The situation of the pregnant high school girl is a very difficult and traumatic one. In many cases the pregnancy was incurred without benefit of wedlock, and unwed motherhood lies in prospect. In other cases the marriage was a "shotgun" one, following discovery of pregnancy. In the remainder of teenage pregnancies, conception followed marriage, but often it was an unplanned "mistake." The pregnancy serves very seriously to disrupt the relations of the girl with her peers. If it is an unwed pregnancy, the girl is often snubbed or even ostracized by her friends. In all cases the pregnancy tends to prevent her from continuing in common pursuits and activities with them, and it invests her with a new set of hopes, fears, anxieties, and interests widely at variance with those of her friends.