Botswana school child parents: their personal and community relationships contexts for counselling

Abstract

The study determined personal-socio-contextual influences that predicted the perceived quality of relationships with Batswana early teenage mothers. The participants were 86 Botswana high school students (mean age 18.97, SD = 1.76) with motherhood. They completed a numerical measure of adjustment to teenage motherhood in the context of family, school and community and also culture and social policy. A proportion of the teenagers (10%) participated in focus group discussion on the same aspects. The quantitative data were analysed to predict family, interpersonal, school and community interpersonal relationships from the teenage mothers' age, age of parents and living arrangements. The qualitative focus group discussion data were thematically analysed. Findings suggest that supportive living arrangements were instrumental to perceived quality of interpersonal relationships in the family and the school and community relationships. Gendered roles of the parents were social capital for family and school and community relationships with teenage-hood. Living arrangements and parental social discounting qualities reliably predicted teen mothers' social outcomes important for early parenthood counselling.

Keywords:

• adolescents
• counselling in schools
• teen motherhood
• sexuality
• Botswana
• culture

Notes on contributors

Kayi Ntinda, Ph.D., is a lecturer in Educational Foundations at the University of Swaziland. Her research interests include learner support systems in schools and communities.

Elias Mpofu, Ph.D., D.Ed., CRC, is a professor and head of discipline of rehabilitation counselling at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Benza Bender, MA, is a graduate student in Counselling and Human Services at the University of Botswana. His research interest is in community counselling. His research interest is in community-oriented health services for public health with teenagers and young adults.

Sophie Moagi, Ph.D., is a lecturer in psychology at the University of Botswana. Her research focus is on intimate partner violence.