It’s cold and misty and a girl of no more than sixteen walks the solemn streets. Her head is lowered and she seems to be crying. As a Good Samaritan I approach her to find out what’s wrong. Her tears flow and I gather that she is fifteen and like her mother and sister before her, she is pregnant. Sad as it is, I cannot help but imagine how the distinguished behaviourists B.F. Skinner and Albert Bandura would explain this phenomenon.
However, before any discussion is entered into, we must first have at least a rudimentary understanding of what constitutes teenage pregnancy. Tewari (2008) conceptualizes teenage pregnancy as pregnancy attained between puberty and the age of nineteen, however, Widom & Kuhns (1996) narrows this spectrum to pregnancy that is attained between the ages of fifteen and nineteen years and this is also the age range currently being used by UNICEF (2008). Teenage pregnancy has been attributed to several causes such as; exposure to domestic violence, high risk behaviour, stress and depression and financial constraints (Tewari, 2008), however this list is not exhaustive. Skinner (1971) being a radical behaviourist suggested that there was an environmental role in the acquisition and elimination processes that allowed these behaviours to develop, which bore similarity to the Darwinian evolutionary theory for environmental selection. Similarly, Bandura (1986) acknowledged the role of the environment is formulating behaviour, but contended that the environment only provided a potentiality for the performance of a specific behaviour. Consequently, it is clear that Skinner subscribed to the notion of Tabula Rasa proposed by Watson (1926), while Bandura believed that it was a combination of an individual’s cognitive processes and environment that determined overt behaviour (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2007).
When applied to the issue of teenage pregnancy, Skinner (1938) believed that sex itself was a primary reinforcer and this forms the basis for the behavioural argument for teenage pregnancy. Saewyc, Bearinger, Blum & Resnick (1999) posits that with the current trend of earlier maturation, there is a correspondent decrease in the age of sexual initiation, which in turn predicted early pregnancy. It was further revealed that early maturing girls are more likely to engage in early intercourse (Deardoff, Gonzales, Christopher, Reosa & Milsap, 2005). This is quite significant because children are under increased pressure to have sex at an early age and they are exposed to images and information of an adult nature. Additionally, they can be targeted by media campaigns which may target specific sexual images that appear to normalize the idea that sexual experiences occur at an early age (Crouch, 2002).
Bandura may have explained this occurrence as simply modelling that offers vicarious reinforcement and creates the scenario that allows for formulation of behaviour-outcome expectancies (Hergenhahn et al., 2007). These outcome expectancies are further strengthened by the attention paid to models used in these campaigns because they bear similarities to the receivers and are considered powerful (Bandura, 1986). Alternatively, Skinnerians would point out that this is a form of operant conditioning because sexual activity is associated with some sort of stimulus or reward which strengthens the need for sexual activity (Skinner, 1938). Furthermore, the adult nature of sexual activity can be viewed as a form of positive reinforcement that strengthens the relationship with continuous reinforcement schedules (Skinner, 1971). Evidence to support both of these arguments can de derived from the 2002 Fox Searchlight Film’s release of Juno, as well as, the accepted pregnancy of then US vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin’s teenaged daughter, where both cases contained instances of modelling, vicarious reinforcement and positive reinforcement.
If we are to accept the domestic abuse explanation as a cause for teenage pregnancy, then Saewyc et al. (1991) have found that abused children have higher prevalence of frequent intercourse. In line with this reasoning, Widom et al. (1996) theorize that the consequences of abuse and childhood victimization are promiscuity and in some cases eventually pregnancy. They further propose that teenage pregnancy may result from forced sexual intercourse or promiscuity following a history of sexual abuse. The same researchers also suggest that the possibility exists that the pregnancy could be planned as an escape from an abusive home environment.
Skinner may have attempted to explain the issue of domestic violence being a cause for teenage pregnancy by suggesting that pregnancy serves as a form of negative reinforcement which removes the aversive stimulus of abuse from the equation. He may have further suggested that pregnancy is an avoidance contingency which also seeks render the said aversive stimulus extinct (Hergenhahn et al., 2007). Conversely, Bandura may not have fully subscribed to the notion of pregnancy being a reinforcer, instead he may have insisted that it was a case of delayed modelling and the pregnancy only served as the motivation necessary for the development of an effective behaviour-outcome expectancy (Hergenhahn et al., 2007). That is to say that the teenage may have observed someone getting pregnant to avoid abuse and determined that they would experience similar outcomes, hence the pregnancy.
Leibowitz, Eisen & Chow (1986) adopted a primarily economic perspective to explain teenage pregnancy. To support this argument Cooksey (1988) found that he highest rates of teenaged pregnancies occurred in young women who hailed from economically deprived backgrounds. In further research, Cooksey (1990) examined the effects of family background factors including employment status and found that these factors predicted pregnancy. For example the likelihood for teenagers within a home with a steady income to get pregnant was much lower that that of those without. Furthermore, Saewyc et al. (1999) discovered that adolescents from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are also more likely to get pregnant because they usually have low self esteem, feel powerless or alienated and have little control of their lives. Additionally, these individuals are also more likely to engage in prostitution, promiscuity and other high risk behaviours such as smoking and drinking (Tewari, 2008).
Bandura would have put this down to these teenagers lacking models that held their attention or who were perceived to be powerful, hence, they engaged in these behaviours (Hergenhahn et al., 2007). In the same breath, Skinner may have argued that the mere presence of adults served as secondary reinforcement because they were associated with satisfaction of basic needs and thus were viewed as being providers (Skinner, 1971). In counteracting this argument Bandura may have insisted that because the actions of these adults that served as models were observed, behaviour-expectancy outcomes may have been formed that drove the teenagers to engage in prostitution and promiscuity. He may have furthered argued that by engaging in these activities, teenagers were exhibiting self efficacy in trying to change their circumstances, while engaging in moral justification or blatant disregard or distortion of the consequences of their actions. He may have also argued that they were now exhibiting behaviour created as a result of a perceptual set based on consequences of past behaviour of the adults (Bandura, 1986). Skinner may have agreed with Bandura, but would theorize that these acts of prostitution or promiscuity were simply an avoidance mechanism or that they were simply being positively rewarded from the money gained from these acts that could help to improve their standard of living (Skinner, 1971).
Finally, it has been found that the incidence of teenage pregnancy among daughters of teenaged mothers is almost twice that of mothers who were at least twenty years old when they first gave birth (Manlove, 1997). Social control theories of intergenerational transmission of early childbearing suggest that children born to teenage mothers are at risk of early pregnancy also because of their mother’s lack of parenting ability, as well as, the poorer socioeconomic environments in which these children are raised (Barber, 2001). In light of this, speculation arises that young mothers’ accepting attitudes about teenage parenting may mediate the link between mothers’ and daughters’ early child bearing (Kahn & Anderson, 1992). For example, a teenaged sister’s childbearing is associated with mothers’ reduced ability to monitor their children and increased acceptance of teenage parenting (East, 1996). These dynamics have been linked to the disposition to engage in risky behaviour and may contribute to the high instances of pregnancies among sisters of teenage mothers (Miller, 1998). Additionally, certain qualities of the relationship between a teenager and her parenting sister may elevate her risk of pregnancy.
Social cognitive theory suggests that an individual’s capacity to serve as a model of behaviour is enhanced when that person frequently interacts with another (Bandura, 1977). The ability of one sibling to change the others sexual behaviour and attitudes is strongest when they interact frequently and have a warm amiable relationship (Widmer, 1997). This suggsuggests that a younger sister may become pregnant to mimic the older sister who serves as a model for behaviour (East & Shi, 1997). Skinnerian ideology would suggest that a lack of negative reinforcement is responsible for the seemingly cyclical nature of teenage pregnancy because nothing is done to remove the older sister who serves as an influence for the younger one from the situation (Skinner, 1971). Skinner would also suggest that as a result of tolerance of the pregnancy by the mother the younger sister determines that she would receive positive reinforcement if she too were to become pregnant. Furthermore, by becoming pregnant she would receive parental attention which serves as a secondary reinforcer (Hergenhahn, 2007).In conclusion, it must be accepted that the causes for teenage pregnancy are as varied as the persons who become pregnant as teenagers. Whether the cause is economic, sociocultural or any numbers of a plethora of other factors, there will always some behaviourist explanation for the phenomenon. Consequently, it can be concluded that the theories of both Bandura & Skinner are still very relevant and applicable to many social issues and will continue to be in spite of criticisms and shortcomings of the respective theories.
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