Longitudinal study on self-esteem among recently pregnant Brazilian adolescents

Objective: To investigate the factors associated with low self-esteem among recently pregnant adolescents. Methods: A three months longitudinal study of 202 recently pregnant adolescents, aged 14-19 years, was undertaken in 2006. Results: From baseline to follow-up, the median of self-esteem increased from 10 to 15 points and mean increased from 10.2 (SD = 2.94) to 16.0 (SD = 2.53). The paired t-test showed a significant difference between the means (p 0.001). Recently pregnant adolescents who were attending school and living with their partner were more likely to have high self-esteem at follow-up (p = 0.001; p = 0.024, respectively). The findings suggest that adolescents who were experiencing a first pregnancy may have low self-esteem, compared with those who felt that the birth had a positive impact on their relationship with their families. Conclusion: The findings indicate the importance of familial support for pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers. Encouraging adolescents to remain in school or return to school could lead to higher self-esteem and better long-term outcomes for the adolescent mothers and their children. A larger-scale study, with longer-term follow-up, could facilitate further exploration of the factors involved in positive outcomes.