Prof. Tatyana I. Bresso, PhD
Pirogov Russian national research medical University, Russia
E-mail: bresso54@mail.ru
Abstract
The paper examines the particularities of underage pregnant girls’ use of various psychological defences and assesses the level of anxiety and emotional intelligence. The types of the used protections and their degree of expression are defined. The author concludes that pregnant minors use the maximum number of psychological defenses to reduce anxiety, and is one of the consequences of a higher level of emotional intelligence compared to their peers.
Keywords: psychological defense mechanism; psychological defenses; underage pregnant women; motherhood; young motherhood.
Introduction
Adolescent motherhood is one of the contemporary social problems, aspects of which are studied within the framework of obstetrics and gynecology, psychology, sociology. Due to the immaturity of psycho-emotional processes, underage women experience serious difficulties with pregnancy and childbirth, which is expressed in partiular in a high probability of complications.
The fact of reaching (or not reaching) the age of majority, from a biological point of view, is not a prerequisite for the normal course of pregnancy and childbirth. The age of majority is a formal category related to the possibility of forming and expressing one’s will externally. Physiological readiness for pregnancy occurs in late adolescence from the time of puberty. As a rule, the readiness
of the female body to gestation comes at the age of 16-17 years. Readiness to gestation is determined individually based on the signs of the end of puberty. It should be noted that puberty is influenced by environmental factors (including social factors), as the average age of puberty has declined over the last few centuries. It should be noted that the end of puberty can occur at the age of 18-19 years, which serves as a variant of the individual norm.
Due to the objective patterns of psycho-physiological development and the nature of relations in society, motherhood can be fully realized only in adulthood. T.N. Razuvaeva and T.P. Omelchenko on the basis of their empirical research conclude that underage pregnant women have a persistent negative attitude towards the image of “I am Mother”, which is a feature of the emotional and evaluative component of their self-consciousness [4, p. 52]. The formation of a stable positive attitude towards motherhood with the willingness to take appropriate responsibility is completed in adulthood. In the situation of pregnant minors the lack of formed ideas about motherhood is obvious. Researcher E. S. Mikhailin among the most significant social aspects inherent in underage pregnant women, indicated early sexual debut, low educational qualifications and social status, personal insecurity [3, p. 26]. In this regard, we proposed the following hypothesis: pregnant minors use a large number of pronounced psychological defences. An empirical study was conducted to test this hypothesis and to determine the specific features of the psychological defense mechanism of pregnant minors. The study also assessed levels of anxiety and emotional intelligence as factors influencing the psychological defense mechanism.
Research methodology
Fifty female students under the age of 18 years old, who were divided into two groups, took part in our study. The control group consisted of 36 students in grades 9, 10, 11 of school 906 in Moscow, aged under 18 years old. The experimental group consisted of 25 girls aged 13 to 18 who were pregnant and in a postpartum situation at the branch of the specialized children’s home “Little Mama” (Moscow). The study was conducted according to the Plutchik-Kellerman-Conte, Spielberger-Hanin and N. Hall methods. To increase the accuracy of the interpretation of the results a clinical interview was conducted. The results were mathematically processed using the Mann-Whitney test.
Consideration
According to the test results, the anxiety level in the experimental group has an average level of anxiety (an anxiety score greater than 45 indicates a high level of anxiety, 31 to 44 indicates a moderate level, less than 31 indicates a low level). The average level of anxiety detected in the experimental group, taking into account pregnancy status, can be regarded as relatively safe for health. The lower level of anxiety in the experimental group is due to various factors. First of all, the provision of psychological assistance to underage pregnant women who were included in the experimental group should be noted here. However, this factor should not be regarded as the only and fundamental one, since, as stated in the theoretical part of the study, various researchers have generally noted the absence of high levels of anxiety in pregnant minors, which is not directly related with the provision of ongoing psychological help to some of them. In our opinion, the reason for the absence of high levels of anxiety and the tendency for it to appear is due to the greater amount of psycho-emotional experience that the pregnant minors have. Pregnant minors often have difficult family relationships and early sexual activity. Although these circumstances should be interpreted as negative, they lead to the development of the ability to cope with stressful situations. In addition, those women who have made positive reproductive choices were studied, which has a balancing effect on personality (making a responsible decision consciously increases the level of personal culture. Let us now turn to the mathematically processed data, the study of which is necessary to establish relationships (Table 1).
| Spielberger-Hanin test | |||
| Situational | Mean value in the control group | Mean value in the experimental group | Significance level of differences p= |
| situational anxiety | 51,53 | 42,04 | 0,023* |
| Personal Anxiety | 51,44 | 40,92 | 0,009* |
Table 1: Mean values and significance level of differences revealed by the Spielberger-Hanin test in the control and experimental groups.
* null hypothesis rejected (significant differences exist)
There were significant differences between the levels of personal and situational anxiety in the control and experimental groups. Thus, anxiety in pregnant minors has the following features:
1. Among underage pregnant women, a low level of personal and situational anxiety prevails, which is confirmed by the research conducted and the data of various scientists;
2. The low level of anxiety is due to various factors, such as
– Regular availability of psychological help;
– Availability of experience in coping with stressful situations (the ability of pregnant minors to cope with stress is due to their greater life experience than their peers, albeit with a mostly negative connotation);
– The positive reproductive choices made by pregnant minors.
Noting the reduced level of anxiety let us interpret the data obtained using the Plutchik-Kellerman-Konte questionnaire (Fig. 1). At the same time we should note that all the protections do not exist in isolation and their specific totality depends on a large number of psychophysiological and social factors, some of which are individual in nature. The main influencing factors include age, place of study or work, specifics of relations in the parental family, nature of relations with the father of the child, motives for deciding to remain pregnant, attitude of close relatives to the pregnancy, property status of the pregnant (availability and income level, place of residence – separate flat, room, etc.), individual psychophysiological features (including extragenital diseases). Mathematical processing is contained in Table 2.
Figure 1: Life Style Index, LSI.
| Life Style Index | |||
| Scale name | Mean value in the control group | Mean value in the experimental group | Significance level of differences p= |
| displacement | 59,72 | 87,88 | 0,012* |
| regression | 60,09 | 77,75 | 0,051 |
| replacement | 83,72 | 83,00 | 0,109 |
| negation | 73,91 | 93,75 | 0,002* |
| projection | 50,09 | 88,00 | 0,005* |
| compensation | 60,45 | 76,13 | 0,051 |
| hypercompensation | 41,45 | 91,25 | 0,000* |
| rationalisation | 37,09 | 90,63 | 0,000* |
Table 2: Mean values and significance level of differences revealed by the Life Style Index.
* the null hypothesis is rejected (significant differences exist)
Let us consider in more detail the psychological defences used by pregnant minors (based on the Plutzik-Kellermann-Conte interview and clinical interview results).
Pregnant minors use the maximum number of psychological defenses. In the control group, the highest scores were recorded on the scales of “substitution” and “denial.
Denial does not manifest itself in relation to pregnancy at all. The experimental group consisted of pregnant and parenting women who had made positive reproductive choices, so their pregnancy was not frustrating. The most likely difficulties that will arise in connection with pregnancy are to be denied, such as difficulties in obtaining vocational training, obtaining the necessary level of income, establishing a long-term relationship of trust with a partner, etc. The fact of pregnancy is not denied – it is displaced. The displacement in this case is an attempt at self-justification and the removal of personal responsibility. Pregnant minors try to displace the circumstances that led to the early pregnancy, such as early sexual activity and promiscuity in social relationships. In other words, the circumstances that could cause judgment are displaced.
Regression manifests itself in the use of simpler behavioural patterns, which reduces the number of conflict situations that arise. This leads in particular to a levelling out of the individual psychological features of the personality.
The manifestation of compensation shows an attempt to transfer the value model of the mother, which, however, is not integrated into the psyche. Young pregnant adolescents who have made positive reproductive choices aspire to an awareness of themselves as mothers, but due to the unformed maternal “self-concept”, young pregnant women tend not to actually embody the value base of motherhood, but to the usual idealization.
As a result of projection, young pregnant women transfer their own negative feelings, emotions and failures to others. Projection exposes their incompetence in motherhood.
High scores were recorded on the substitution scale. Different circumstances are subject to substitution depending on the personal situation of the pregnant woman. For example, negative emotions related to an unsatisfactory relationship with a partner may manifest in relation to other people.
On the scale of hypercompensation (reactive formations) the high rate can be explained by the fact that pregnant women assess their negative qualities as directly opposite (for example, pregnant women conceived to endow themselves with such qualities as caring, pity, although not everyone has them in a pronounced variant).
Of particular interest is the scale of rationalization the high degree of which we consider to be one of the specific features of the psychological defense mechanism of pregnant minors. The decision to remain pregnant, especially in the later stages of pregnancy, is subject to rationalization when women provide a logical justification for their choice, and the reasons given for remaining pregnant may vary, among which the following rationalized motives can be identified:
– Humanistic motive (preservation of the child’s life);
– The motive of preserving one’s own health (abortion can impair reproductive function, lead to complications of a future pregnancy);
– The social responsibility motive.
The social responsibility motive is noteworthy when a pregnant woman mentally endows herself with a sense of high personal responsibility to herself and others (in the interview, many pregnant women put forward the following argument: “any other woman would have an abortion”). This motive should be considered the most unfavorable because it indicates the presence of deformation phenomena in the psyche when the boundary between the personal and the social (the decision to terminate or maintain pregnancy is a personal matter, at the expense of which it is unacceptable to develop a sense of advantage over others). It should be noted that the motivational complex of pregnant women contains all three motivations; however, the degree to which they are expressed varies. The specified motivational complex develops in the context of rationalization, which gives it a negative character because motives are mainly conscious, logical in nature, while at the subconscious level there is a large number of fears and negative emotions. In this case, there is a disruption in the mechanism of motivation formation.
Note that the use of a maximum number of psychological defences is uncommon. Studies of pregnant women on the Plutchik-Kellerman-Conte questionnaire have been conducted by various scientists, but the characteristics of the experimental groups were different. Thus, as shown by the study conducted by T. V. Shakhvorostova, women suffering from infertility expressed the use of the following defenses: “denial”, “regression”, “projection”, “reaction formations” [5, p. 255]. As K. V. Kislyakova, O.S. Kovshova, such defenses as “repression”, “replacement”, “reactive formation” are revealed in women with the complicated course of pregnancy and as a result of the use of these defenses, “impulses that are unacceptable to the person become unconscious and can lead to emotional reactions and a psychosomatic reaction” [2, p. 133]. That is the use of the maximum number of defenses is specific and inherent in pregnant minors. We believe that this is primarily due to the unformed ideas about motherhood of pregnant minors. I. N. Zemzyulina notes that the formation of an adequate type of readiness for motherhood depends on the age of a pregnant woman and the duration of pregnancy [1, p. 41]. Young age of pregnant women indicates insufficient readiness for motherhood, which in the situation of pregnancy determines the use of various psychological defences in their most pronounced form.
In order to determine the factors that influence the psychological protection mechanism, the emotional intelligence of the girls was also determined. The level of emotional intelligence was determined on the basis of the Hall test results (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Hull test result.
The results of the Hall test showed that the level of emotional intelligence in the experimental group was much higher, which was confirmed by the value of the integrative index. However, emotional intelligence in the experimental group cannot be called mature, because they are poorly able to manage their emotions, and there are also problems with self-motivation. The strengths of the emotional intelligence of pregnant minors and mothers are emotional awareness and empathy, which is due to the desire to understand their own emotional state and that of the unborn child.
Significant differences in the Hall test were found on the following scales: emotional awareness, empathy, and integrative index (Table 3). These results are consistent with the preliminary findings. The integrative index is of key importance, due to which there are qualitative differences between the two groups. It is clear that pregnancy and childbirth stimulate the formation of emotional intelligence, but only partially. An inability to completely control one’s emotions indicates emotional immaturity, which, however, cannot be demanded of underage girls. Although there are no significant differences on the scale of the management of own emotions, it is worth noting that this is the only scale on which the control group surpassed the experimental group. That is, the development of emotional intelligence in the experimental group was associated with an increase in emotional instability, largely due to unexpected pregnancy and hormonal changes.
| Тест Холла | |||
| Scale name | Mean value in the control group | Mean value in the experimental group | Significance level of differences p= |
| Emotional awareness | 6,42 | 11,34 | 0,000* |
| Managing their emotions | 5,84 | 5,65 | 0,631 |
| Self-motivation | 7,23 | 8,13 | 0,315 |
| Empathy | 10,12 | 13,34 | 0,000* |
| Managing the emotions of others | 8,47 | 10,31 | 0,063 |
| Integrative index | 38,08 | 48,77 | 0,000* |
Table 3. Mean values and significance level of differences revealed by the N. Hall test for the control and experimental groups.
Thus, young mothers are characterised by higher levels of emotional intelligence than their peers who are not in the situation of motherhood, which is provided by the development of empathy and emotional awareness.
Conclusion
The following conclusions were drawn in the course of the study:
1. Pregnant and postpartum girls have a number of distinctive emotional and personal features that are due to early motherhood, some of which are positive in nature;
2. Pregnant and postpartum girls use a greater number of psychological defences to the most pronounced extent, the most significant of which are hypercompensation and rationalisation;
3. Girls in early motherhood situations have normal levels of personal and situational anxiety, while both types of anxiety are present in the control group;
4. Young pregnant women and mothers use a large number of psychological defences and have more pronounced irrational attitudes, with the exception of catastrophizing, which is due to an acceptance of pregnancy and the absence of anxiety;
5. The key psychological defense is rationalization the excessive development of which is due to both the personal characteristics of pregnant women and miscalculations in the work of psychologists when attempts to form a “top-down” motivational complex lead to negative results.
6. The experimental group recorded higher indicators of emotional intelligence ensured by the development of empathy and emotional awareness;
7. The level of depression in the experimental group is much higher than in the control group, which is due primarily to its cognitive-affective component;
8. Young mothers are characterized by a higher level of emotional intelligence than their peers who are not in the situation of motherhood.
Bibliography
1. Zemzyulina I. M. “Pregnancy experience in the context of a person’s life path as a factor in forming readiness for motherhood”. Proceedings of A. I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University 91 (2009): 31-41.
2. Kislyakova K. V., Kovshova O. С. “Psychological support for women with threatened abortion”. Electronic Scientific and Educational Bulletin “Health and Education in the XXI century” 12 (2017): 132-134.
3. Mikhailin E. С. “Social characteristics of underage pregnant women who have decided to keep their babies in the metropolis (by the example of St. Petersburg) “. Journal of Obstetrics and Women’s Diseases 1 (2015): 23-28.
4. Razuvaeva T. N., Omelchenko T. P. “Emotional and evaluative component of self-consciousness of underage pregnant women”. Scientific result. Series “Pedagogy and Psychology of Education” 1.3 (2015): 47-53.
5. Shakhvorostova T. V. “Psychological and acmeological factors of psychological protection of personality in preparation for motherhood”. Proceedings of Saratov University. A new series. Series Akmeologiya obrazovaniya. Psychology of development 3.19 (2016): 254-255.
