‘He can do whatever he wants’: a pregnant teens’ reflections on leisure and a romantic relationship

ABSTRACT

Romantic relationships and leisure play significant roles in adolescents’ lives. However, heterosexual romantic relationships can negatively constrain women’s leisure, particularly with regard to ‘shared’ leisure among heterosexual couples impacted by pregnancy. While some attention has been given to the leisure experiences of pregnant girls, the constraining influence of romantic relationships compounded by pregnancy on a young girls’ leisure remains unexplored. Therefore, this exploratory study aimed to describe pregnant adolescents’ leisure within heterosexual relationships. Findings are presented as fictional blog passages and text message exchanges over the course of the composite, Opal’s pregnancy. This fictional representation describes how Opal’s leisure not only changed but diminished as a result of pregnancy, yet her boyfriend’s leisure remained nearly unchanged.

KEYWORDS:

• Heterosexual relationships
• pregnancy
• adolescents
• leisure
• blogs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brianna S. Clark

Brianna S. Clark is an Assistant Professor of Event Management within the Event Management Department of The Nido R. Qubein School of Communication.

Kellie A. Walters

Kellie A. Walters is an Assistant Professor in the Kinesiology Department at California State University, Long Beach.

Denise M. Anderson

Denise M. Anderson is a Professor and Associate Dean within the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences.

Sarah Mims

Sarah Mims is a high school student at Bishop McGuiness Catholic High School in Kernersville, NC.