Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal Volume 18, Number 1, February 2001 Multi-Systemic Influences on the Family Functioning of Teens Attending Pregnancy Prevention Programs Jacqueline Corcoran, Ph.D. ABSTRACT: This exploratory study used Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) multi-sys- temic framework to determine the factors predicting scores on the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) with a sample of low SES and culturally diverse (White non-Hispanic, African-American, and Hispanic) teenagers at- tending both primary and secondary pregnancy prevention programs. Factors studied at the individual (micro) level involved the adolescent’s pregnancy status; at the level of the immediate social environment (meso), family struc- ture was assessed, and SES and race were studied as broader social environ- ment influences (macro). Overall, scores on the FAD were high, indicating unhealthy functioning according to teen self-reports. Support was indicated for the Bronfenbrenner model with all three systems levels exerting an influ- ence on family functioning. Adolescents who had grown up in homes without their parents seemed most at risk for perceptions of poor family functioning although racial differences were found. Overall, minority teens rated their families as higher functioning. Pregnancy and parenting as a teenager also appeared to put a strain on family functioning. Implications for service deliv- ery are discussed. KEY WORDS: Adolescent Parenting; Teen Pregnancy; Adolescent Childbear- ing; Family Functioning. Theoretical Perspective Social work is unique in its emphasis on the ecological perspective and the consideration of the ways in which systems impact and interact with individual behavior. An ecological systems model has been con- Address correspondence to Jacqueline Corcoran, Ph.D., School of Social Work, Vir- ginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 842027, Richmond, VA 23284-2027. 37  2001 Human Sciences Press, Inc.