Identity configuration in adolescent parents: a qualitative study

Abstract

This article presents the results of an investigation that aimed to relate the experience of paternity with the configuration of identity in teenage parents. It is a historical hermeneutical approach, based on interactive workshops and biographical interviews with a thematic script. Ten adolescents between 16 and 19 years old, who recently had the experience of being a parent participated of the study. The results confirm the findings of other studies which address that the experience of parenthood in adolescents does not always represent an inconvenient fact. For some of the teenage parents who lack of an established life project, this event can contribute to the reaffirmation of personal identity and serve as a reference to ratify their masculinity. It was found that adolescent parents participated actively in the upbringing of their children; however, some of the meanings of fatherhood are still associated with traditional models of masculinity.

Keywords

• adolescencia
• identidad
• masculinidad
• investigación
• embarazo.