Exploring the Impact of Underage Pregnancy on Single Parenting in Nigeria
Temitope J. Owolabi1 
& Tendayi C. Garutsa 1
Issue: Vol. 6 No.12 Article 28 pp. 3271 – 3284
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561228 | Published online 28th November, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Age, Sex Education, Sexual Debut, Single Parenting, Underage Pregnancy
Ahonsi, Babatunde, Kamil Fuseini, Dela Nai, Erika Goldson, Selina Owusu, Ismail Ndifuna, Icilda Humes, and Placide L Tapsoba. “Child Marriage in Ghana: Evidence from a Multi-Method Study.” BMC Women’s Health 19, no. 1 (2019): 126.
Ajayi, Adeola. “Effects of the Demographic Characteristics of Students on Gender-Based Violence among Junior Secondary School Students in Osun State, Nigeria.” International Journal of Rural Development, Environment and Health Research 1, no. 1 (2017).
Amoadu, Mustapha, Edward Wilson Ansah, Patricia Assopiah, Philomina Acquah, Joyce Evelyn Ansah, Eunice Berchie, Doris Hagan, and Elsie Amoah. “Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing Adolescent Pregnancy in Ghana: A Scoping Review.” BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 22, no. 1 (2022): 834.
Arowolo, Grace Ayodele. “Preventing and Eliminating Child Marriage in Africa: The Perspectives from Nigeria.” JL Pol’y & Globalization 119 (2022): 27.
Asefa, Z, D Amenu, and A Berhe. “Awareness of Obstetric Fistula and Its Associated Factors among Reproductive-Age Group Women in Bench Sheko Zone, Southwest, Ethiopia. Community Based Cross-Sectional Study.” J Women’s Health Care 9, no. 509 (2020): 2167–2420.
Badura, Peter. “Constitutional and Legal Problems of Privatization in Germany.” Direito e Justiça 5 (1991): 31–48.
Bolarinwa, Obasanjo Afolabi, Bright Opoku Ahinkorah, Joshua Okyere, Abdul-Aziz Seidu, and Olalekan Seun Olagunju. “A Multilevel Analysis of Prevalence and Factors Associated with Female Child Marriage in Nigeria Using the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey Data.” BMC Women’s Health 22, no. 1 (2022): 158.
Chyen, David, Danice K Eaton, Katherine F Flint, William A Harris, Joseph Hawkins, Laura Kann, Steve Kinchen, Connie Lim, Richard Lowry, and Tim McManus. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: United States, 2011. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and …, 2012.
Daly, Mary. “What Adult Worker Model? A Critical Look at Recent Social Policy Reform in Europe from a Gender and Family Perspective.” Social Politics 18, no. 1 (2011): 1–23.
De, Partha, and Nandita Chattopadhyay. “Effects of Malnutrition on Child Development: Evidence from a Backward District of India.” Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health 7, no. 3 (2019): 439–45.
Dillon, Mary E, and Andrew L Cherry. “An International Perspective on Adolescent Pregnancy.” In International Handbook of Adolescent Pregnancy: Medical, Psychosocial, and Public Health Responses, 1–38. Springer, 2014.
Dube, Misheck. “The Challenges Facing Widows in African Contexts: A Literature Review.” International Journal of Research in Business & Social Science 12, no. 7 (2023).
Egbe, Thomas Obinchemti, Amadeus Omeichu, Gregory Edie Halle-Ekane, Charlotte Nguefack Tchente, Eta-Nkongho Egbe, and Jean-Francois Oury. “Prevalence and Outcome of Teenage Hospital Births at the Buea Health District, South West Region, Cameroon.” Reproductive Health 12, no. 1 (2015): 118.
Ezenwaka, Uchenna, Chinyere Mbachu, Nkoli Ezumah, Irene Eze, Chibuike Agu, Ifunanya Agu, and Obinna Onwujekwe. “Exploring Factors Constraining Utilization of Contraceptive Services among Adolescents in Southeast Nigeria: An Application of the Socio-Ecological Model.” BMC Public Health 20, no. 1 (2020): 1162.
Grace, A. C., O. Odunsanya, L. A. Agbonjimi, A. J. Iyanu, B. T. Mamman, and A. A. Abiodun. “Increased Rate of Teen Pregnancy and Impact of Determinants on Senior Class Students in Two Selected Secondary Schools in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria.” European Journal of Modern Medicine and Practice 3, no. 2 (2023): 21–42.
Hamad, Bassam Abu, Samah Elamassie, Erin Oakley, Sarah Alheiwidi, and Sarah Baird. “‘No One Should Be Terrified like I Was!’Exploring Drivers and Impacts of Child Marriage in Protracted Crises among Palestinian and Syrian Refugees.” The European Journal of Development Research 33, no. 5 (2021): 1209–31.
Haseli, Arezoo, Mohammad Shariati, Ali Mohammad Nazari, Afsaneh Keramat, and Mohammad Hassan Emamian. “Infidelity and Its Associated Factors: A Systematic Review.” The Journal of Sexual Medicine 16, no. 8 (2019): 1155–69.
Miguel, Edward, and Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak. “The Economics of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poor Countries.” Annual Review of Economics 14, no. 1 (2022): 253–85.
Mohr, Rebekah, Jose Carbajal, and Bonita B Sharma. “The Influence of Educational Attainment on Teenage Pregnancy in Low-Income Countries: A Systematic Literature Review.” Journal of Social Work in the Global Community 4, no. 1 (2019): 2.
Musa, I. A., P. A. Johnson, and A. C. Nwankwo. “The Influence of Community Endorsement on Public Sector Participation: Census Case Study.” Nigerian Journal of Public Administration 34, no. 1 (2021): 44–59.
National Bureau of Statistics. “Social Statistics Report 2017,” 2017.
National Population Commission and ICF International. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2013. Rockville, MD: National Population Commission and ICF International, 2014.
Nnadi, Ine. “Early Marriage: A Gender-Based Violence and A Violation of Women’s Human Rights in Nigeria.” Journal of Politics and Law 7, no. 3 (2014): 35.
Odewale, O. “Effects of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Social Skills Training on Psycho‑social Problems of Children from Single‑Parent Homes in Ibadan, Nigeria.” University of Lagos, 2017.
Ogunjuyigbe, P O, A O Fatusi, and A S Adebowale. “Displacement and Sexual Reproductive Health among Young People in North-Central Nigeria.” Journal of Refugee Studies 30, no. 1 (2017): 89–105.
Okoror, Collins Ejakhianghe Maximilian, Vivian Ossaidiom Omuemu, and Adedapo Babatunde Anibaba Ande. “Knowledge and Practice of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness among Pregnant Women Attending Mission Hospitals in Benin City, Nigeria.” Women’s Reproductive Health 7, no. 4 (2020): 276–90.
Olaleye, Y L, and D Oladeji. “Single Parenthood Impact on Street Children in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria.” African Research Review 4, no. 2 (2010).
Onwubuariri, Michael Ifeanyi, and Terhemen Kasso. “Teenage Pregnancy: Prevalence, Pattern and Predisposing Factors in a Tertiary Hospital, Southern Nigeria.” Asian J Med Health 17, no. 3 (2019): 1–5.
Osayomi, Tolulope, Richard Adeleke, Olalekan John Taiwo, Adeniyi S Gbadegesin, Opeyemi Caleb Fatayo, Lawrence Enejeta Akpoterai, Joy Temitope Ayanda, Judah Moyin-Jesu, and Abdullahi Isioye. “Cross-National Variations in COVID-19 Outbreak in West Africa: Where Does Nigeria Stand in the Pandemic?” Spatial Information Research 29, no. 4 (2021): 535–43.
Palamuleni, Martin E, and Ayo S Adebowale. “Prevalence and Determinants of Unintended Pregnancies in Malawi.” African Population Studies 28, no. 1 (2014): 551–63.
Poulin, Michael J, Lauren M Ministero, Shira Gabriel, C Dale Morrison, and Esha Naidu. “Minding Your Own Business? Mindfulness Decreases Prosocial Behavior for People with Independent Self-Construals.” Psychological Science 32, no. 11 (2021): 1699–1708.
Rodgers, Joseph L, and David C Rowe. “Social Contagion and Adolescent Sexual Behavior: A Developmental EMOSA Model.” Psychological Review 100, no. 3 (1993): 479.
Rumjaun, Anwar, and Fawzia Narod. “Social Learning Theory—Albert Bandura.” Science Education in Theory and Practice: An Introductory Guide to Learning Theory, 2020, 85–99.
Sagalova, Vera, Siméon Nanama, Noel Marie Zagre, and Sebastian Vollmer. “Long-Term Consequences of Early Marriage and Maternity in West and Central Africa: Wealth, Education, and Fertility.” Journal of Global Health 11 (2021): 13004.
Smith-Greenaway, Emily, and Sara Yeatman. “Unrealized Educational Expectations and Mental Health: Evidence from a Low-Income Country.” Social Forces 98, no. 3 (2020): 1112–42.
Ude, Paula Ugochukwu, and Okechukwu Camillus Njoku. “Widowhood Practices and Impacts on Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Empowerment Perspective.” International Social Work 60, no. 6 (2017): 1512–22.
UNICEF. “10 Million Additional Girls at Risk of Child Marriage Due to COVID‑19.” Press Release. UNICEF Nigeria, 2021. https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/press-releases/10-million-additional-girls-risk-child-marriage-due-covid-19-unicef.
Verguet, Stéphane, Paulina Limasalle, Averi Chakrabarti, Arif Husain, Carmen Burbano, Lesley Drake, and Donald A P Bundy. “The Broader Economic Value of School Feeding Programs in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: Estimating the Multi-Sectoral Returns to Public Health, Human Capital, Social Protection, and the Local Economy.” Frontiers in Public Health 8 (2020): 587046.
Vijeyarasa, Ramona. “When Women Lead: Legislating against Gender-Based Violence in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.” Austl. J. Asian L. 23 (2022): 27.
Vongxay, Viengnakhone, Femke Albers, Souksamone Thongmixay, Maliphone Thongsombath, Jacqueline E W Broerse, Vanphanom Sychareun, and Dirk Rombout Essink. “Sexual and Reproductive Health Literacy of School Adolescents in Lao PDR.” PloS One 14, no. 1 (2019): e0209675.
Wajim, John, and Harry Grace Shimfe. “Single Parenting and Its Effects on the Development of Children in Nigeria.” The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention 7, no. 03 (2020): 5891–5902.
WHO. “2020 Adolescent Pregnancy,” 2020.
Wibowo, Heribertus Rinto, Muliani Ratnaningsih, Nicholas J Goodwin, Derry Fahrizal Ulum, and Emilie Minnick. “One Household, Two Worlds: Differences of Perception towards Child Marriage among Adolescent Children and Adults in Indonesia.” The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific 8 (2021).
World Health Organization. “ ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health.’ Maternal Health in Nigeria: Generating Information for Action,” 2020. https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/maternal-health-nigeria/en/.
World Health Organization, 2021. “Violence against Women.” Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women.
Worldometer. “ Nigeria Population,” 2021. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/nigeria-population/.
Yuval-Davis, Nira. “Intersectionality and Feminist Politics.” European Journal of Women’s Studies 13, no. 3 (August 1, 2006): 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506806065752.
Temitope J. Owolabi is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Sociology at the Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, South Africa. He earned his doctoral degree in Sociology from the same institution, where his scholarship demonstrated strong theoretical and practical engagement with contemporary social issues. His research interests span Gender Studies, Development Studies, and Industrial Sociology, with a particular focus on the intersections of gender, work, and social change in African contexts. Owolabi’s work contributes to advancing debates on equity, development, and organisational dynamics, positioning him as an emerging scholar committed to producing impactful research that informs policy and academic discourse.
Tendayi C. Garutsa (PhD) is an Associate Professor in Sociology, Faculty of Humanities at North-West University, South Africa. She holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Fort Hare. Her research focuses on gender, rural development, food security, and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Garutsa has served as a National Research Funding Proposal Evaluator and was a post-doctoral fellow with the Climate Impacts Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement Programme in Africa under DFID and the African Academy of Sciences. She has received several awards, including the 2022 Teaching Excellence and Top Senior Lecturer Researcher Awards at NWU. Her work, grounded in social justice, is widely published in areas such as feminist pedagogies, rural development, and gender.
Owolabi, Temitope J. & Tendayi C. Garutsa “Exploring the Impact of Underage Pregnancy on Single Parenting in Nigeria.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 12 (2025): 3271 – 3284, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561228
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
