Paper Title
Psychological Well Being among Pregnant Teenagers Attending BPKIHS

Abstract
Background - The incidence of teenage pregnancy is on rise recently. With adolescent period already being a period of transition and identity confusion, added responsibility of motherhood might be overwhelming to the teen and thus affect the psychological wellbeing of the teenagers Objectives - To find out the psychological well being of pregnant teens attending BPKIHS and to find out the association between selected socio-demographic variables and psychological well-being of the respondents. Materials and Methods - A hospital based mixed method study was conducted among 88 pregnant teenagers visiting BPKIHS OPD. Data collection was done using pretested questionnaire and interview guide using Psychological General Well Being Index(PGWBI). Results - The mean score for psychological wellbeing was 63.72 with a standard deviation of 12.764 indicating that majority (80.7%) of the respondents were in some form of distress. Though no statistical significance was found among socio-demographic variables and psychological wellbeing, the results from qualitative analysis found that the support received by the respondents from family and spouse is still low as compared to their expectations. Similarly, teenage pregnancy affected the psychological state of teens in the compulsion to stop studying, having to suppress their desires to meet the societal expectations. Conclusion - Majority of the pregnant teenagers are in psychological distress. Excerpts from the respondents suggest that early marriage itself might be a cause for early pregnancy and it is also seen that majority of the pregnant teenagers had conceived within a year of marriage. Further it is also seen that teenage pregnancy has detrimental consequences like cessation of education of the young population of the nation which will ultimately affect the productivity of the nation. Keywords - Pregnant Teenagers, Psychological well-being, Distress