Teen Pregnancy
Teens between the ages sixteen through eighteen are at more risk to get pregnant than any other ages. Kaneesha was the sweet girl who was confronted with many tumultuous turns in her life, but kept on a positive path. In the movie “Lean on Me”, Kaneesha is in the auditum crying and the principal Mr. Clark walks in and notices she is crying so he goes to her.
The principal Mr.Clark and Kaneesha have a great relationship to where she told him she was got pregnant and didn’t know what to do. From her mother telling her that she didn’t want her, and her boyfriend telling her that the baby she was pregnant with wasn’t his, Kaneesha was strong and was a supporter of Mr. Clark. The causes of teen pregnancy are peer pressure,
Many times these teens let their friends influence their decision to have sex even when they do not fully understand the consequences associated with the act. Teenagers have sex as a way to appear cool and sophisticated, but in some cases the end result is an unplanned teen pregnancy. The Kaiser Family Foundation states that more than 29 percent of pregnant teens reported that they felt pressured to have sex, and 33 percent of pregnant teens stated that they felt that they were not ready for a sexual relationship, but proceeded anyway because they feared ridicule or rejection. Teenage pregnancy statistics report that a total of 329,797 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a live birth rate of 31.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. America happens to have the highest rate of teenage birth compared to other industrialized states. Many teens, especially boys, feel pressured to be sexually active before they are even ready to take this step. A survey shows that one in three boys between the ages 7-15 have felt the pressure to have sex by their peers at some point or
Many parents have busy lives that prevent them from providing the guidance and support that their young teenagers need to make good decisions on issues such as sex, according to the website Parentdish. When a teen does not feel that she can talk to her parents about sex either because they forbid sex talk or because they are not around, she will more than likely turn to friends for direction on whether or not to have sex, resulting in misinformation and possible teen pregnancy. Children who live with one parent are four times more likely to live in poverty than children in two-parent homes, according to a March 2011 survey performed by the U.S. Census Bureau. This information is more accurate when considering one parent homes that consist of a mother and her children, rather than a father and his children. This is largely due to the fact that in many cases, the father is the breadwinner and supporter of the family, although this is not indicative of all single-mother or single-father households. According to this survey, two-parent families account for only 12 percent of the poverty-stricken population, while single-mother families account for 44 percent of the poverty-stricken
... is the direct effect of teens and young adults not being educated on the things that come with sex and the consequences of their actions. Teens need sex education because the knowledge will give them an insight on the subject and help them think about the proper precautions to take in order to be a responsible person insuring that they use the right contraception and/or abstinence in order for them not to have children as a teen. Other factors play into why teens become pregnant as well. In the results for my interviews, parent/child relationships should be established and upheld as a relationship that is strictly parent and child. Teens who do not have a true parent/parents in their lives to care about the important thing that contribute to the child’s well being such a becoming pregnant at a young age, tend to make decisions that are not healthy in their lives.
Additionally, “The Effects of a Single Parent Home on a Child’s Behavior” by Marnie Kunz, “For every $100 of child support mothers receive, their children’s standardized test scores increase by ⅛ to 7/10 of a point” (Kunz, 1). “Living in poverty is stressful and can have many emotional effects on children, including low self-esteem, increased anger and frustration and an increased risk for violent behavior” (Kunz, 1). Welfare and child support has given single parents the ability to spare their children of their financial and relationship issues therefore, children are able to focus on their schoolwork on their personal lives without stress and interference. Also, several scholarships are available for all members of a single parent household. “Fortunately, there are a number of scholarships available to help children of single-parent homes attend college” (Kunz, 2). Poverty by Single Parent Houses no longer prevents children from entering college. Tragedies unfortunately, tend to repeat themselves. In the article titled “U.S. Single Parent Households”, it is said that “70% of gang members, high school dropouts, teen suicides, teen pregnancies and teen substance abusers come from single mother homes” (Ahlberg, 1). Teen pregnancies have been proven to be the root cause of the majority of children being born into
As everyone knows, teen pregnancy rate is increasing more and more each day and someone needs to do something to try and either stop it or decrease it dramatically. Teen pregnancy is causing dramatic population increase and that’s just common sense. Teens getting pregnant at such a young age is also causing poverty levels to go up more and more. Mississippi Spent over $100 million on teen pregnancy alone in the year 2010 (“Teen Pregnancy”). Just think of what it is now. More teens are dropping out of school and not finishing their education. According to the authors of this article, “approximately 30 percent of teen mothers have mothers who dropped out of high school, 40 percent have mothers who are mothers who dropped out of high school, 40 percent have mothers who are high school graduates, and 30 percent have mothers who attended college”(Kearny et al 143). Many people don’t realize that there are many effects of teen pregnancy including higher risk of birth defect, more likely to drop out, and also abortion rates increase.
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 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.
According to the March of Dimes, "nearly thirteen percent of all births in the United States were teens ages fifteen to nineteen. Almost one million teenagers become pregnant each year and about 485,000 give birth (Teenage 1).
Studies show that between 2006 and 2011 there was an average drop of about 30% of teen pregnancies and 50% of teens involved in any kind of sexual activity (not just intercourse) in America. According to a recent study as of 2008, teen birth rates in the U.S., (which have been declining for tw...
The Feminist Women’s Health Center explain that teenagers who are sexually active who does not use any contraception has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within the first 12 months of being sexually active. Teens also become pregnant when contraceptive methods, such as birth control pills and condoms fail. In those groups of teens who become pregnant, more than one-third obtain an abortion, a forceful termination of the pregnancy through the removal of the embryo or fetus from the uterus. (Welton)
Teen pregnancy, it’s one of the growing problems in today’s society. Teens today have more problems than ever, and in many cases the parents mistake signs of the problems for mere puberty phase. Beginning problem, which often trigger the others, seem to be families. Deeply religious families are most often heavily strict, and that prevents the teenagers to be informed about real life and what are they getting into. When that kind of person gets in a situation where his or her peers are more experienced then them, the outcome is a pressure. During the puberty the teenagers, especially males, are having problems with controlling their needs. It is easy to get pregnant for today’s teenagers, because they face many unbearable problems.
One major effect of teen pregnancy is that the child may be raised by a single parent. While most girls are looking for love and acceptance in sex, many guys are looking for the mere pleasure and are not planning on becoming a teen father. The pressures of high school and hanging out with friends may be overwhelming for some teens, so they just leave. Raising a child as teen is difficult, but raising a child alone would be almost impossible.
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.
The concept of comprehensive social intervention has been defined as the process of identifying social problems in an attempt to eradicate them. In looking at the broad range of social characteristics and the behavior associated with teen pregnancy, it is obvious that the emphases placed on the effort to recognize and alleviate teen pregnancy can be celebrated through the effectiveness of education, family planning, and abstinence. However, the attempt to analyze and deal with the cause-and-effect relationship with teen pregnancy is an attempt in understanding the social world itself. In 2006, statistics show that there was a significant increase in teen pregnancy after a decade long decrease. The potential for understanding this increase motivates us to look beyond simple explanations for cause-and-effect behavior and to look at what interactions may be occurring between variables that result in specific behaviors or social conditions. What is it that influences behavior? In looking at teen pregnancy in the realm of the family, it is evident that a large number of family structures have evolved, or perhaps devolved, into a variety of combinations which challenge responsible parents to consistently expose their children to the role models and the types of behaviors that are important for their children to emulate as they mature. People are molded by circumstances and experiences, all of which can positively or negatively influence our behavior.
“In 2012, there were 29.4 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 305,420 babies born to females in this age group” (Hamilton). Teenage pregnancies were once regarded as normal. Women were once expected to be married and have a family at a young age to ensure lifelong stability. In modern times, teenage pregnancy is considered a taboo subject. MTV began a reality television show in 2009 that popularized pregnancy amongst adolescent females. There are many factors that add to the risk of becoming pregnant during adolescent years, but glamorizing the subject has shown to be the top reason.
A number of teens do not want to become pregnant, although some are not opposed and other has ambivalent attitudes (Bruckner, Martin, & Bearman, 2004, p. 535-557). Therefore having a healthy understanding of factors associated with a desire for pregnancy among teens, health care providers may better predict the most at risk teens. Many teenagers from the age of 15-19 carry mixed feelings concerning childbirth. Although the optimistic teens increase the risk to unprotected sex, and some were negative against the spectrum to protect against early pregnancy. A careful details study on attitudes indicates a small number of adolescents embraced pregnancy in the future; a large group of teenagers is unsure about becoming pregnant.
Poverty and lack of academic success contribute, there is mounting evidence that poor academic success and bad parenting lead to teen pregnancy. Babies from teen mothers usually have poor health, lower grades, and have lower cognitive tests scores (Witte 137-54). The majority of children from an unplanned pregnancy are born to unmarried women. Children raised in single parent families face more challenges; they are more likely to be poor, dropout, lower grade point average, and poor school attendance records (Brown 11-4).