Stress and Coping of Pregnant Prostitutes in Resosialization of Gambilangu Mangkang Semarang

Abstract

ABSTRACT Pregnancy is an important moment in women lives. In pregnancy, physical and psychological changes occur. Every change in life is a stress stimulator. Stress which happens to pregnant prostitutes in the Resocialization of Gambilangu Mangkang Semarang affects negatively on their pregnancy and may cause serious complication of pregnancy. The aim of this research was to explore the stress and coping of pregnant prostitutes in the Resocialization of Gambilangu Mangkang Semarang. The method of this research was qualitative with phenomenological approach. Participants were four pregnant prostitutes in the Resocialization of Gambilangu Mangkang Semarang. The data were collected using in-depth interview with semi-structure interviewing. The result of this research showed that there were physical and psychological changes in pregnant prostitute. The stress sources were anxiety and income decrease. Meanwhile, the coping sources were supports from husband, guardian, family, their friends, and sufficient economic factor. Prostitutes, therefore, used adaptive coping mechanisms such as seeking for pleasure out of home, being relaxed, and sharing. In addition, they also applied maladaptive coping mechanism. They only cried without trying to solve the problem they faced and tend to be alone. The research recommends that pregnant prostitutes use adaptive coping mechanism. Keywords: Pregnancy stress sources, coping sources, coping mechanism