Perceived social support in pregnant adolescents in Mersin area in Turkey

Objective: The study examines the level and source of perceived social support in pregnant adolescents and the factors related to their perception of social support. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with the voluntary participation of 127 adolescent pregnant females who visited the Gynecology and Pediatric Hospital in Mersin, Turkey. The data were collected based on the participants' self-expression, using the Socio-demographic Information Form and Multidimensional Scale of the Perceived Social Support. Results: The average age of the pregnant adolescents was 18 years. Approximately one-fifth of all participant females were either illiterate or had dropped out of the primary school. All pregnant adolescents were housewives with a low economic status. Findings pertaining to the participants'fertility showed that 69.3% were primiparous, 24.4% had at least one living child. The mean score for pregnant adolescents' perception of social support was 50.79 +/- 8.72. The mean score on the subscales was 23.32 +/- 3.23 for family support; 16.17 +/- 4.35 for friend support; and 12.29 +/- 5.54 for special person support. Conclusion: Pregnant adolescents had a low perception of social support. Families were found to be the most common source of social support available to pregnant adolescents, and they lacked the support from their friends and other special people.