Breath-taking views, towering mountains, thick, green forests, and flowing rivers, disguise a life of extreme poverty in Southern Appalachia. Although Southern Appalachia is one of the most beautiful regions in the United States, it is also one of the most poverty-ridden (Dalton, 2012). The people of Appalachia face countless hardships everyday: poverty, mining disasters, pollution, poor living conditions, poor healthcare, drug abuse, and crime. These unfortunate conditions have a vast effect specifically on the young women of this region. With teen pregnancy rates at an abnormally high level in Southern Appalachia, it is captivating to discover what these young women hope to gain by becoming pregnant. Southern Appalachian women face the most …show more content…
A recent research study, by Betsy Dalton from the University of Tennessee, “explored the meaning of motherhood to young Appalachian mothers” (Dalton, 2012). Dalton conducted interviews with fourteen Southern Appalachian mothers ages 18 to 22. Ten of these young mothers were Caucasian, and the remaining four were African American. Two of the women were married, and two engaged, to the father of their child. Five out of the eight women receiving welfare checks lived in public housing, and eight of the fourteen women lived with their parents. With the exception of two, all of the girls came from a family with divorced or deceased parents. The frequency of broken families led to blended families consisting of several step-siblings and half-siblings. Eight of these women had also dropped out of high school; however four out those eight received their GEDs. Five of them had graduated from high school, and three of those five were enrolled in college. The fourteenth participant was still in high school, and planned to graduate (Dalton, 2012). In her study, Dalton concluded that the experience of teenage motherhood provides a salvation and fills the emptiness and abandonment young women in Appalachia are subjected …show more content…
Only about one-third of the fathers are still involved with their children (Dalton, 2012). The girls in Dalton’s study either have attempted to include their child’s father in the child’s life, or are struggling with his absence. Many of the fathers discussed are drug-addicts. Lindsey’s son’s father had even overdosed on OxyContin (Dalton, 2012). Another participant, Elise, claimed she would have let her child’s father continue to be a part of her life, until she found out about his secret drug addiction. In an attempt to help him, and keep him around for her child, she forced him to take constant drug tests. However, “his addiction eventually took over and he lost interest in maintaining” their relationship (Dalton,
Reimer, Susan. "Case Closed: Teen Pregnancy Is Poverty's Offspring." Baltimore Sun. N.p., 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Dec. 2013.
The female teen stares into the eyes of her newborn son, not realizing the type of life her and her son will have in the near future. Katrina L. Burchett excellently explicates teenage pregnancy among female adolescents living with domestic problems in her book titled Choices. The various elements that aid to the wide range of teenage pregnancies in the world should all be taken in to consideration. Getting pregnant at an adult is no longer substantial or conventional in our society. Everyday, female young adults are getting pregnant, which is why it is a social issue for the youth today.
The concerned camp believes that families are in decline due to the rapid changes that have happened in the past 25 years. Unprecedented levels of divorce, people having babies while not married, and also teenagers having babies have hurt families and quite possibly led into hunger. The concerned camp also believes that families have the most influence on the character and competence of children and adults (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). The concerned camp values parental commitment, marital fidelity, individual responsibility, and civic participation. They also believe that individualism overshadows or threatens these values. The concerned camp believes happiness is due to relatedness to others, investments in family, and commitments to the community. Evidence that supports the concerned camp is that many Americans are very concerned about the state of families and the well-being of children. They also believe that it is very important to be concerned about how the next generation is raised because they will be the future parents, workers, and citizens. They believe that our prosperity depends on investing in childrearing. In addition, the concerned camp...
The birth rate among teens in the United States has declined 9% from 2009 to 2010, a historic low among all racial and ethnic groups, with the least being born in 2010; and in 2011 the number of babies born to adolescents aged 15-19 years of age was 329,797 (“Birth Rates for U.S.”, 2012). Although the decline in unwanted and unplanned teen births is on the rise the United States continues to be among the highest of industrialized countries facing this problem. This is a prevailing social concern because of the health risks to these young mothers as well as their babies. Teens at higher risk of becoming pregnant are raised at or below the poverty level by single parents; live in environments that cause high levels of stress (i.e., divorce, sexual psychological and physical abuse); are influenced by peers or family members that are sexually active; and lack parental guidance that would direct them to be responsible and self-controlled.
The District of Columbia is the 23rd most population city in the United States with a population of 658,893 (Census). According to UNICEF, teen pregnancy is defined as “A teenage girl, usually within the ages of 13-19, becoming pregnant” ((Link 1). Nationally in the United States, there has been a steady decline of teen pregnancy within the past decade. However, it is not occurring in the District of Columbia, specifically Southeast DC (Ward 7 and 8) which includes areas such as: Lincoln Heights, Twining, Anacostia and Woodland. As of 2011, DC was ranked number nine in the nation for the highest rate of teen pregnancy. For the total amount of births, only 908 were from young women who were below the age of 20 in Washington DC. About 879 were from young women that were around high school ages 15-19. Specifically, Southeast DC is a low-income area, with approximately ¼ of teen mothers going on welfare within three years after their child’s birth (Link 2). As of 2012, out of the 790 births from teenage mothers, more than half, or 457 of the births mainly occurred in the Southeast DC area (Link4). This area has been plagued through various social determinants of health. This includes having repeated cycles of poverty, lack of comprehensive sexual education, especially in regards to contraception and a lot of violence occurring as a result of crimes. Ward 7 has approximately 95% of its citizens being Black and 2.3% of their citizens are Hispanic(Link 5). While in Ward 8 have about 94% of their citizens that are Black and 1.8% are Hispanic. Between both wards, about 63% of households including both Blacks and Hispanics are living below the federal poverty line and about 37% of births from the 2010 census were from teenage mothers. Abo...
In the reading, Patricia Hill Collins quotes, “Racial domination and economic exploitation profoundly shape the mothering context, not only for racial ethnic women in the U.S., but for all women,” (Collins Intro). She acknowledges that racial domination is used as a system of oppression meaning motherhood could be greatly affected based on racial division. Collins states “The way we conceive fundamental institutions are specific to race, class, and gender”, so these institutions will be a different to different people because they have different experiences (Collins Intro). Moreover, just as U.S. Black women’s work and family experiences varied during the transition from slavery to the post–World War II political economy, how Black women define, value, and shape Black motherhood as an institution shows comparable diversity”; motherhood experiences differ based on race and class therefore making African American motherhood dissimilar (Collins
A child’s healthy development is crucial to the growth of a strong society. In order for a child to progress successfully, it is essential to have the father in the juvenile’s life. It has been proven that, the “father’s love appears to be as heavily implicated as a mother’s love in offspring’s psychological well-being and health ” (Rohner & Veneziano, 2001, p. 382-405). It has also been shown, “that fathers make important contributions to their children's cognitive and behavioral functioning” (Pougnet, Schwartzman, Serbin, & Stack, 2011, p.173-182). Unfortunately without the father, “sons obtained lower scores for all the moral indexes significantly lower for internal moral judgment, maximum guilt following transgressions, acceptance of blame, moral values, and rule conformity; and were rated by teachers as significantly more aggressive than father-present boys” (Hoffman & Michigan, 1971, p. 400-406), and “reported father–daughter relationships characterized by rejection, chaos, and coercion had lower morning cortical levels and were temperamentally more sensitive to emotional changes” (Auer, Byred-Craven, Granger, & Massey, 2012, p.87-94). It is then understood that if the father is in the child’s life or absent from his/her life, the child will be affected.
Teen pregnancy has become an epidemic in the United States alone. Today, more than half of all teenagers report having had sexual intercourse at least once before leaving high school (Glazer, 1993). Each year, almost 750,000 U.S. women, aged 15–19 become pregnant (Guttmacher Institute, 2011).
My motivation to research, discover, and stimulate social change is rooted in my childhood experiences. As a young child I grew up in a household filled with domestic violence, which ultimately ended with the suicide of my father. I subsequently came to know a variation of the typical American nuclear family: a single parent household. As I began to study family dynamics further, I was able to see my life experiences in a broader context. In hindsight, I now realize the impact and weight my own mother had on my personal development. It was through her strength, determination, and optimism that I was able to find the spark within myself to set goals and dreams for my future. She encouraged me never to accept anything at face value, including the way our society attempts to define my womanhood. As a result of this, I now question American culture’s classification of a ‘successful’ family and the factors that determine a ‘stable’ family.
The current rate of teen pregnancy is 67.8 pregnancies or 7% of the population. 62 pregnant teens out of every 1,000 women get pregnant. Today in society the media, TV and movies, where young girls, and young men, are constantly exposed to sex and sexually charged subjects is the reason why teen pregnancy is beginning to get be a growing problem. Another reason that this is happening is because of the not only the lack of values in today’s society, but also because parents today are not educating their young ones about the birds and the bees so that the youth will know about the dangers of getting pregnant so young. Young people should be taught about sex and pregnancy so that they are well educated on the topics. The more teens know about sex, the more likely they are to use protection or to abstain from sex to prevent teen pregnancy. Not only is there a big impact on the teen mother of getting pregnant at a young age, it could also impact the child of the mother. “Teen mothers have a higher rate of low birth weight babies and infant mortality than mothers in the ages of 20. They are not only less likely to finish high school, but also are more likely to live in poverty and rely on public assistance like food stamps” (South Carolina Campaign). When it comes to the children of the teen mothers, they are less prepared to enter the school system and score lower on measures of school readiness. Some are even likely to repeat a grade, less likely to complete high school, or have lower performances on standardized tests.
Teen pregnancy continues to be an issue. Although teen pregnancy has been cut nearly in half in the last 25 years, it still continues to be a huge economic and public policy issue. “U.S. teen birth rates remain disproportionately high compared with other developed countries” (“Study Examines”), as many studies observed. But it’s clear that public awareness of the issue, its causes and its effects, along with outreach programs to instruct teens on the risks and dangers of teen pregnancy and unsafe sex can have dramatic effects on the issue and lead to massive reductions in the problem. Continuing on this path and increasing public knowledge on these issues is a surefire way to continue to decrease the number of girls who become pregnant before they become adults, and continue to secure greater economic access to women in the future.
The Family structure has changed significantly in the last fifty years. With higher percentages of marriage ending in divorce, and higher rates of childbearing out of wedlock, single parent families are increasing rapidly. “Seventy percent of all the children will spend all or part of their lives in a single-parent household.” (Dowd) Studies have shown that the children of these families are affected dramatically, both negatively and positively. Women head the majority of single- parent families and as a result, children experience many social problems from growing up without a father. Some of these problems include lack of financial support, and various emotional problems by not having a father around, which may contribute to problems later in life. At the same time, children of single-parent homes become more independent because they learn to take care of themselves, and rely on others to do things for them.
Domenic, Desirae M. "Adolescent Pregnancy in America: Causes and Responses." Journal for Vocational Special Needs Education 30.1 (2007): 4+. Print.
The role of a father in his child’s life extends past the knowledge of far too many, and can oftentimes be eclipsed by the role of the mother. Although the mother’s role is essential and greatly valued in a child’s life and development, the father plays a significant role as well. No mother can fill the father’s place in a child’s heart, for fathers nurture and play differently than a mother. Several studies show that an attendant and highly involved father is critical, especially in the early stages of a child’s life. The absence of a father during this stage can lead to “impaired social and behavioral abilities in adults” (Robert, 2013). But what is the role of the father? This paper discusses the role of the expectant father, the birth experience for him, the transition into fatherhood, and the rise of single fathers.
Although teen pregnancy rates dropped significantly in the USA over the past decade, rates remain higher than in many other developed countries (Ventura et al., 2001; Flanigan, 2001). Almost 900,000 teenage girls still become pregnant each year in the USA and significant racial/ethnic disparities exist (Ventura et al., 2001). Given the adverse economic and health consequences stemming from teen pregnancy, including low birth weight and economic hardship, no one is claiming that the battle is won. Instead, experts are debating what motivated the decreases in sexual activity and increases in the use of contraceptives at first intercourse, and strategizing ways to continue the positive trends. Possible explanations for the good news include economic prosperity, more informed and cautious attitudes about sex, improved use of contraceptives, and funding of new teen pregnancy prevention efforts through welfare reform (Darroch and Singh, 1999; Flanigan, 2001).