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SOCIAL CAPITAL AND ADOLESCENT GIRLS’ RESILIENCE TO TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN BEGORO, GHANA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2016

Sylvia Esther Gyan ,
Collins Ahorlu ,
Dan-Bright S. Dzorgbo  and
Clara K. Fayorsey
Sylvia Esther Gyan*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Ghana, Ghana
Collins Ahorlu
Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Ghana
Dan-Bright S. Dzorgbo
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Ghana, Ghana
Clara K. Fayorsey
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Ghana, Ghana
*
1Corresponding author. Email: sgyan@ug.edu.gh
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Summary

This study focuses on how older adolescent girls access and utilize social capital to develop resilience against teenage pregnancy in Begoro, Ghana. A survey of 419 non-pregnant girls aged 15–19 years, selected using a multi-stage cluster sampling technique, was conducted in 2012. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with ten girls purposively selected from the survey respondents. Parents, relatives, teachers and religious groups were found to be important sources of social capital for the non-pregnant girls in developing resilience against teenage pregnancy. In addition, resilient girls tended to rely on multiple sources of social capital. It is recommended that stakeholders and policymakers in Ghana ensure that these significant sources of social capital in adolescent girls’ sexual experience are equipped with the right information to help girls decrease the risk of teenage pregnancy.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 49 , Issue 3 , May 2017 , pp. 334 - 347
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2016 

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