The family has been researched under different studies from different angles. In this study I review literature looking at the socio-economic status, parent child relationships and sibling behaviors.
3.10.1 Family socio-economic status
Predominantly,research carried out on the socio-economic status of families from which pregnant young women come seems to agree on the low status of the families. The families are generally described as being poor, having a low educational background, a low income, single parent, black community based, abusive, and other terms that indicate low social status. Though the above aspects do not directly cause pregnancy, they are greatly observed as contributing towards predisposing young women to early sexual involvement without contraception, which therefore leads to higher chances of pregnancy.
Research indicates that young people who grow up in solid families with two biological parents portray secure socio-economic status and thus the young people make better sexual choices such as delayed sexual activity. Also, children from advantaged families with a higher income and education tend to make better sexual choices (Manlove,Terry- Humen,Papillo,Franzetta, Williams and Ryan,2002).
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The trend for the low socio-cultural status of families seems to run between countries, with poorer countries of the world (in the global south) recording larger proportions of pregnant young women compared to their counterparts in the western countries. Even within countries, the poorer and sometimes rural communities of a country bear the heavier occurrence rates (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999).
This relationship between socio-economic status and young people'ssexual risk behavior however needs to be approached with caution as it should not be interpreted to mean that young women from poor family backgrounds lack the power and the decisions to either have babies or not.
3.10.2 Parent child relationships
The relationship between parents and children has been documented as one of the major contributing aspects towards young people's risk taking behaviors. The relationship has been researched under pointers like parent/child connectedness, which includes being close to, sharing warmth, being attached to one another, support or being responsive.
Children who perceive their parents as interested in their welfare and feel the sense of belonging have been observed to make constructive sexual choices. If the young people have a high quality relationship with parents as indicated by parental involvement in the young people's education,this sometimes influences positive sexual choices (Manlove,et al., 2002, Markham, Tortolero, Escobar-Chaves, Parcel, Harrist and Addy, 2003 and Miller, 1998).
In relation to investigations on family connectedness, a survey of 976 high school students was undertaken in Texas. The findings of the survey reaffirm that the issue of family connectedness may be beneficial in the protection of young persons from risky sexual behaviors (Markham et al., 2003).
The findings that support good parent relationships, however, contradict the findings of some studies that indicate negative relationships as a result of familyconnectedness. An example of a longitudinal study carried out in Minnesotta indicated a negative correlation of parental connectedness in that the young people who were highly connected to parents
displayed risky behaviors such as sexual behavior, suicide, and unhealthy dietary practices (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 1997).
The second area of research has focused on the monitoring of young people by parents.
Though there are recommendations for more research in the area of parental control and monitoring, some studies have been conducted in the area. The findings are, however, contradictory. Some studies attest that the control or regulation of young people leads to positive sexual choices. On the other hand, some studies have found no relationship between control and acceptable sexual choices such as the reduction of sexual intercourse. A further contradiction indicates that in families where parents are very strict and controlling,the young people show increased sexual risks (Manlove,et al., 2002).
The third area for research in the area has focused on communication. This area has also produced inconsistent findings. Some studies indicate that communication is related to a decrease in sexual risks, other studies present a contradiction in that more open communication on sexual issues has been observed as perpetuating a greater risk of sexual behavior. Some studies have also found that there is no correlation between open communication and safe sexual behaviors (Miller, 1998).
Despite the mixed and contradictory findings from studies,there is observation that most parents do not value the role they could play in relating to young people in order to discuss and deliberate on sexual matters. As observed by Davies (2000) the majority of the parents react disapprovingly, get angry and annoyed when it comes to young women's sexuality.Parents of pregnant young ones get embarrassed and are embarrassed by the pregnancy (Davies,2000).
In Lesotho several studies indicate the unwillingness of parents to engage in any sexual talk with the young people. The reaction of rage and total anger has been noted. I have found no study that has investigated how the parent child relations work in response to risky sexual behaviors. In 2003 a study was undertaken by Mturi to check parental attitudes on young women's sexual behaviors in Lesotho. The findings of the study indicated a clear indication of a lack of communication between parents and young
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people on sex related issues. This is in line with studies undertaken in the country before (Mturi,2003).