SOCIOLOGY Flashcards
Giving birth whilst still a teenager is strongly associated with social disadvantage for both the mother and child in later life. Explain why, with reference to the debate on the issue
Ongoing debate as to whether these adverse medical, social, educational and economic outcomes are due to intrinsic risks of pregnancy in teen years, or from social, economic, environmental circumstances of teens. It is widely accepted that pregnancy compounds the situation of those who are already living in socially disadvantageous circumstances
Affect of teenage pregnancy on education of mother and child
- Mother less likely to go onto further education
- Children more likely to have low educational attainment, and economic inactivity
Mental health in teenage mothers vs older mothers
Teenage mothers suffer from poorer mental health in 3 yrs after their birth compared with other mothers. 3x rate of post-natal depression
Infant mortality in teenage mothers <16 vs older mothers
Infant mortality rate is 60% higher than for babies born to older mothers
Children born to teenage mothers are more likely, in time, to become teenage parents themselves - what is important to note though?
This is true but things are not inevitable and need to take into consideration other social factors
Abortion in higher vs lower socio-economic groups
Those from disadvantaged areas less likely to opt for abortion if they get pregnant
In 1997, the New Labour government commissioned Social Exclusion Unit to develop strategy to cut rates of teen parents. Three key targets were set out in 1999 - what were they?
- Reduce rate of teen conceptions, halving rate among under 18s by 2010 (not achieved)
- Establish downward trend in <16 conception rate by 2010
- Increase participation of teen parents in education + work to 60% by 2010 to reduce risk of long term social exclusion
There is now an earlier onset and increase in sexual activity among teenagers. Explain the changing sexual attitudes and behaviour in young people. 4 points
- Loss of traditional family structures
- Changing employment patterns = children less sheltered from realities of adult world
- More sexualised society in which old taboos have faded and sexual messages permeate media
- Access to info about sexual health + contraception has not kept pace with this exposure
Sociologists recognise risk-taking in adolescence as being a ‘normal’ transitional behaviour. What need does it serve?
Developmental need to establish autonomy by encountering and developing mastery of new unexplored activities, which contain possibility of loss
Differences in contraception responsibility in ‘working’ vs ‘middle class’ backgrounds
Working class young people tended to feel that responsibility was up to women alone, whereas middle class young people hoped there would be sharing of responsibility
Why is there a difference in the perception of responsibility of contracetion in working vs middle class young people?
Affected by cultural norms, social representations, knowledge of contraception and awareness of disease transmission. This reflected difficulties in accessing advice and information
Labelling theory focuses on what part of illness?
Symbolic meanings of illness
Labelling theory draws attention to the experience of being diagnosed / labelled sick as having what 2 consequences?
Social as well as physical consequences for individual
Why is sickness is perceived as ‘a form of deviancy’?
Because it is outside norm of health, in same way that forms of criminal or anti-social behaviour fall outside norms of civil society
Secondary deviance is much more significant because it alters a person’s self-regard and social roles - why does it happen?
In direct response to this labelling that person changes their behaviour in accordance with label - constituting a self-fulfilling prophecy
Stigma in healthcare
Concept is concerned less with the social process of labelling a particular disease state as deviant, than with the stigmatising consequences of that process for an individual
