Introduction

In this book we have developed new insights into the politics of teenage pregnancy by drawing together examples from across different types of welfare regimes in the industrialised world. The main message has been that welfare state institutions, policies and narratives are critical to our understanding of early motherhood in ‘varieties of capitalist states’.

There are, of course, strong and ongoing theoretical debates in the social sciences about whether essentialist or social constructionist theories should be retained to explain teenage motherhood (Musick, 1993; Hacking, 2003). Notwithstanding the personal and sociopsychological factors that help explain the onset of teenage pregnancy, we have departed from analyses and solutions directed at adolescent ‘risk-taking’ behaviour per se. Instead, we have focused on the variations between countries and tried to shed light on some of the social policy factors that might explain these differences.

As stated in Chapter One, the principal objectives of this volume were to contribute to an emerging body of literature on comparative welfare states, especially in relation to youth and gender issues, to examine and contrast public policy responses in a range of countries representing various welfare regimes, and to critically reflect upon the construction of teenage pregnancy as a social problem.

To meet these objectives, three hypotheses were formulated regarding the linkages between the welfare state and teenage pregnancy. The first of these hypotheses concerned the role of social protection towards individual households and the family. It was assumed that those nations with minimal social safety nets would incur higher rates of births to teenagers. Second, diverging social attitudes, beliefs and policies towards youth sexuality were expected to exert a significant influence on teenage well-being and reproductive behaviour. Third, we put forward that state intervention towards teenage pregnancy may be driven by differing regulatory regimes as to the appropriate timing of fertility, the pace of entry into adulthood, and breadwinner/caregiver models.

This concluding chapter returns to each of the three hypotheses and uses the key findings of the case study chapters not only to confirm their validity and relevance to the study of teenage pregnancy, but also to draw wider scholarly and policy-relevant lessons.