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Dave Strukel Dissertation.pdf (1.64 MB)

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Teen Pregnancy and Media Engagement: A Uses and Gratifications Study

Strukel, David Michael
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1449249202

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Media and Communication.
While teenage pregnancy has been on the decline, overall, since the 1970s, the frequency of teenage pregnancy in the United States is much higher than its incidence in other major industrialized countries. Furthermore, in the U.S., in certain instances and communities, teenage pregnancy has remained at unacceptable levels. This dissertation explores teenage pregnancy from the perspective of teenage mothers focusing on their relationship with the media throughout the process of their pregnancy and into motherhood. This study also takes into consideration the contextual factors that impact media usage such as the environment in which participants live in, socioeconomic status, family background, interaction with peers, and school, among other possible influences. The novel approach taken here is the use of qualitative interviews from the Uses and Gratifications perspective, and the employment of Grounded Theory analysis. The participant sample comprises 30 students a school for teenage mothers in the Midwest. No previous academic studies have examined the engagement pregnant teenagers have had with the media. However, several studies have examined teenagers’ exposure to sexual content on television and their subsequent sexual behavior. Research questions focus on how and when these young women find information pertaining to having a child before, during and after their pregnancy and their current engagement with the media. Responses among three groups of light, average, and heavy media usage show that pregnant teens and teen mothers usage of media was fairly consistent amongst the groups in terms of sharing progress of pregnancy and seeking health information about pregnancy online. Most of the teen mothers changed their attitude toward seeing sex in the media after having their baby. Several pregnant teens/teen mothers decreased their social media activity or deleted their social media accounts due to drama and bullying.
Ewart Skinner, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Priscilla Coleman, Ph.D. (Other)
Daniel Fasko, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Sandra Faulkner, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Monica Longmore, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Gi Yun, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
233 p.
Communication; Demographics; Families and Family Life; Gender Studies; Womens Studies
uses and gratfications; teen pregnancy; Urie Bronfenbrenner; Erik Erikson; constructivist grounded theory

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Strukel, D. M. (2016). Teen Pregnancy and Media Engagement: A Uses and Gratifications Study [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1449249202

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Strukel, David. Teen Pregnancy and Media Engagement: A Uses and Gratifications Study. 2016. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1449249202.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Strukel, David. "Teen Pregnancy and Media Engagement: A Uses and Gratifications Study." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1449249202

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1449249202
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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.