Unplanned Pregnancy in the Mississippi Delta: Causes and Implications

Author

Julia GrantFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-9-2020

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Public Policy Leadership

First Advisor

Melissa Bass

Second Advisor

Susan Allen

Third Advisor

John Green

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This study seeks to understand the causes and implications of the abundance of adolescent pregnancy in the region known as the Mississippi Delta, where teenage childbearing is among the highest in the nation. To do so, this study reports and analyzes twelve interviews with young, African American, single mothers conducted by the author in the summer of 2019. This study relies on a narrative approach to research and analysis and employs the theoretical framework of Afrocentrism. As a result of the interviews, the author concludes that a blatant lack of sex education in the region is a powerful influence on the high rates of adolescent childbearing, and that current cultural perceptions of African American teenage mothers are misguided and must be remedied.

Recommended Citation

Grant, Julia, "Unplanned Pregnancy in the Mississippi Delta: Causes and Implications" (2020). Honors Theses. 1370.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1370

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