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Teenage pregnancy may be prevented by improved education
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The prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of adolescent pregnancy essay
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No matter how many times someone tells a teen to not have sex, they will not listen, it's inevitable. There's a very high rate of teens in the U.S. that end up pregnant before the age of 20. Instead of lecturing teens, which obviously doesn't work for most, why not help them? Help them by providing them with necessary tools to prevent those consequences. Encourage and provide contraceptives to teens and prevent unwanted pregnancies and STDs.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics “New evidence points to the media adolescents use frequently (television, music, movies, magazines, and the Internet) as important factors in the initiation of sexual intercourse.” Many movies show teenage characters on their goal to lose their
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A poll made by KSAT.com showed responses from people who oppose giving teens contraceptives. One person said, “School is for learning and education not about telling kids about sex. That is the parent's job. If they give kids condoms that's basicly telling kids it's ok to have sex and it's not ok.”
“When schools that make condoms available to students are compared to similar schools that do not, it becomes clear that students who have access to condoms do not have more sex, but they are more likely to use condoms” (Martha
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Because of this attitude toward abstinence and against contraception use, these religious cultures could be leading more teens toward unsafe sexual practices indicating the link between teenage pregnancy and religion” (msnbc). Many teens from religious states get pregnant because of their religious beliefs. Using contraceptives is against the bible because it's basically like aborting. However, these religious beliefs could puts teen’s healths at risk of lifelong
and Angela Miu. "Watching Sex on Television Predicts Adolescent Initiation of." Pediatrics 114.3 (2004): 280-89. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
The second reason for contraceptives being given to teenagers, will help them avoid many dangerous Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) associated with unsafe sexual practices. Studies have shown an increase in unprotected sexuality among teenagers can result in a wide-range of social problems, such as STDs. The topic of birth control in public schools has attracted much support from the American public, according to statistics surveyed. For example, a 2006 Associated Press-Ipsos survey discovered that 67% of Americans support the provision of contraceptives to students. This study also determined that, “About as many - 62 percent - said they believe providing birth control reduces the number of teenage pregnancies” (Associated Press).
Teens walk out of abstinence-only classes having been taught that condoms are dangerous, instead of the importance of using them correctly and consistently if they decide that abstinence isn’t the path for them. In her article “Mixed Marks for Sex Education Classes,” Karen Kaplan reveals that only 70 percent of students are taught the importance of proper condom use, 60 percent are taught where they can find them, and a measly 54 percent learn how to use them correctly. Kaplan goes on to say that 95 percent of students learn about STDs. That leaves 25 percent of the future of our nation without knowing where to go to get protection from STDs, and 5 percent are not being taught about STDs at
Many questions and concerns have come about regarding this promotion of condoms being distributed in public schools. Will it lower teen pregnancy rates? Will condoms reduce sexually transmitted diseases? Will the distribution of condoms in public schools make students more sexually responsible? Who will fund these interventions? Some people believe teaching children and teens about abstinence is the best way to minimize pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Birth control is an alternative used to prevent pregnancy, not necessarily sexually transmitted diseases and using condoms is always a way to protect from diseases and unwanted pregnancies. With these different alternatives and many parents feel as if the program goes against their beliefs and values as a parent/guardian, implementation of the program is a legitimate way to reduce the new trend of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate of all developed countries. That’s pretty scary being compared to China and other developed countries with higher populations and still having the highest pregnancy rate. Schools need to start programs that encourage abstinence, and show or list the consequences of being sexually active. “They are not taught the importance of abstaining from sex nor, at the very least, the proper use of effective birth control and protection from sexually transmitted diseases” (Johnson). And the problem that occurs with this is that the parents or family that interact with the teenagers are no more educated than the teenager themselves.
Watching television programs with a high level of sexual content can shape the patterns of sexual behavior of a teenager. According to Brown (Brown, Greenberg, & Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1993) many teenagers are not able to receive useful information about sex from their parents, this is the reason they usually use the alternative way to find this information through the media. A Kaiser Family research from 1996 (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1996; 1998) shows that a quarter of all the young people have told that they have learned a lot about pregnancy from television shows and 40 percent of them have gotten ideas how to talk about sexual issues. In these modern times media is holding the power to influence the audience and most of all the youngest audience which is developing their view about sex.
Research Questions and/or Hypotheses The research question and basis of the study can be summarized as whether or not the exposure to sexual concepts through the media have significant influences on the sexual practices of teenagers. Similarly, it is proposed that, if proven to be accurate, media can be used in similar formats to encourage safe sex and preventative sexual health practices. The use of focus groups, journal writings, room tours, and interviews allowed teens the opportunity to discuss sexuality which was operationalized as teen views on love, sex, and relationships. Steele, 1999, p. 334.
In our society and culture, we don’t realise that we are constantly being influenced. We have let forms of media influence us without our knowledge; these elements within our culture can have an effect on our sexual desires. ‘There is growing concern about young people’s exposure to sexual content through television and other electronic media and about its potential effects on their sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours.’
First of all, the main reason children have sex prematurely is because they are curious. Students lack knowledge about sex because they haven’t been taught about it, however, when children know the consequences behind their actions and the risks they are taking they less likely to want to have sex. If we take the time to show kids what it is like to take care of a child as a teenager or show them AIDS victims; they may be much less likely to want to indulge in sexual activities. Sex education probably can’t prevent teenage sex, but it can ensure students have the knowledge they need so they’ll be aware of what they are getting themselves into.
Sex is no longer sacred, or private, but is instead something that has become expected by todays younger generations, and is also accepted. One recent study led by RAND Health behavioral scientist Rebecca Collins examined the impact of television on teenagers’ sexual beliefs and activities. Results supported the view that watching shows with sexual content may influence teen sexual behavior (RAND). As television programming has begun showing more sexual scenes, teenagers have been shown to have sex earlier and more
Three million teenagers will contract a sexually transmitted disease and one in three women will become pregnant before they are twenty years old. Teens are contracting sexually transmitted diseases and getting pregnant at an alarming rate, causing the government, schools, and parents to scratch their heads. America is the country with the highest teen pregnancy rate in the world. Many are wondering what can be done to stop this. A debate has been going on about whether abstinence education is doing any good for high school students in America.
...rograms would prefer the youth to be mature enough to understand why their bodies are important and the consequences of sexual relations. Both can prevent teen pregnancies and diseases, but it depends on the individual and their values. However, the National Library of Medicine found, through observation and research, that “there was a positive correlation between abstinence program and teen pregnancy. In fact, teens that were taught abstinence only were more likely to become pregnant than those who were taught sex education.”
“Forty-one percent of teens ages 18-19 said they know nothing about condoms, and seventy-five percent said they know nothing about the contraceptive pill” (Facts on American Teens). Even if schools taught just abstinence it still would not be enough. “In 2007, a study showed that abstinence only programs have no beneficial impact on the sexual behavior of young people” (Facts on American Teens). Sex education is not taken as seriously as it should be in schools, it is treated like it is not a big deal. Schools should require a sex education class that specifically teaches students about sex and goes into depth of all the possible consequences because of the high pregnancy, abortion, and virus rates.
The topic of condom distribution in public schools has caused many heated debates throughout our country in the last decade. Proponents of distribution state that free condom distribution will ensure that teenagers will practice safe sex and that the rate of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy will decline. Opponents of distribution state that free condom distribution will encourage sexual activity and foster the idea that premarital sex is acceptable. Judges in federal court have even considered whether or not condom distribution and sex education without prior parental notification violates parents' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The only viewpoint absent in a discussion of this very controversial topic is the one that holds the most value: the viewpoint of America's teenagers. Teenagers are the only ones who can fully explain why condom distribution fails to respond to the needs that foster sexual activity among young people.
Sexually active youths tend to be more exposure to media than any other members of society. The reason behind that is because they are in charge of their own time without much interference from their parents and burdensome responsibilities. This, combined with the fact that both implicit and explicit sexual content and crime in the mass media has grown over time predisposes youths to premarital sex (Rosengren, 2000).