Abstract

Teenage pregnancy has serious implication for mental health, poverty, sudden death, school dropout and socio-economic difficulties of teenagers as well as achievement of sustainable Development Goals. The aim of this study was to investigate contemporary factors associated with teenage pregnancy among secondary school students in Ijebu-Ode Local Government area of Ogun State, Nigeria and to give implications for mental health counseling. The Students’ Perception on the Causes of Teenage Pregnancy Questionnaire (SPCTPQ) divided into four sections were used to collect data from the 590 female adolescent students selected through stratified random sampling technique and to answer three research hypotheses generated for the study. Data were analysed using Chi-square. Findings of the study revealed that the media and teenagers attitude to sexual matters were significantly associated with teenage pregnancy. These findings pose serious consequences on the female child education and attainment of Sustainable Development Goals. Based on the findings of the study, some implications were drawn for mental counseling among which were: The use of psychotherapy techniques that can help to change adolescents’ faulty thinking and challenge the active sexual lifestyle of students who are already addicted to sexual activities, Counsellors must strive to change and improve children and teenagers’ television and cell phone’s viewing habits and continuous increase in counsellors’ level of awareness about the most recent data on contemporary factors associated with teenage pregnancy among others.