Keywords

Secret life of the American teenager (Television program), Social cognitive theory, Teenage pregnancy

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate the way teen pregnancy is portrayed in Seasons 1 and 2 of the television drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Framing theory and social cognitive theory were used as guiding frameworks for exploring the way the main character’s pregnancy was presented and the way this presentation may influence the ideas and behaviors of viewers. A qualitative content analysis was conducted to examine portrayals in the first 23 episodes. Results indicated that teen pregnancy was portrayed in five major ways: as Dramatic, as Identity, as Manageable, as Transformative, and as Serious. Overall, the findings suggest that teen pregnancy was presented in ways that encourage viewers to perceive this issue as positive and negative, with clearly positive outcomes.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2011

Semester

Spring

Advisor

DeLorme, Denise

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Communication

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0003691

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0003691

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences, Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

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Included in

Communication Commons

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