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Teenage Mothers' Experiences of Formal Support Services

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2009

ELIZABETH YARDLEY
ELIZABETH YARDLEY*
Affiliation:
Sociology ASG, School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article explores support services for teenage mothers. It draws upon empirical evidence from a wider study into the experiences of teenage mothers in the Midlands area of the UK, in which 20 young women who had given birth as teenagers participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences of support services. The findings are used to make suggestions as to policy regarding support for teenage mothers, arguing that the diverse nature of support needs must be taken into account when designing support services. The article concludes that more attention should be paid to the possibilities of the group mode of support, rather than focusing on support delivered on a one-to-one basis, and, in addition, the functions of support services, beyond encouraging re-engagement in education, employment and training, need to be valued more significantly.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , April 2009 , pp. 241 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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