Increased Rates of Teen Pregnancy among Minorities

The US teen pregnancy rate is at 72.2%, which is larger than any rate in Western European countries. Sex education can solve the problem that we see, and possibly lower that rate. It can benefit kids by informing them about everything involving sex instead of sheltering them from the truth. Abstinence-only education is the other option that is typically used, but creating a program to cover everything and not exclude some children who have different beliefs is the overall goal. This program should be offered for all students as a mandatory course because of the amount of information that is to be gained by teaching about sex, relationships, protection, STD’s, and sexual orientation.

The main ethnic/racial groups affected by the health issue are non-Hispanic African American females, Hispanic females, and Native Americans/Native Alaskans. There were key study findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that U.S. birth rates for adolescents vary considerably by race and Hispanic origin (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Thus, this provides even more clear evidence on the difference of ethnic/racial groups. Additionally, in 2008, the birth rate for Hispanic adolescents was approximately five times the rate for Asian/Pacific Islander adolescents, three times the rate for non-Hispanic white adolescents, and somewhat higher than the rates for non-Hispanic African American and Native American/Native Alaskan adolescents (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011).

Since the 1920’s, teen pregnancy among the Latino community has been one of the biggest social problems. Factors like poor or no sex education, negative media portrayal, poor or lower than average educational levels, social inequality and family pressure, such as encouraging womanhood in teen years, contribute to the high percentage of teen pregnancy among Latinas. However, teen pregnancy among Latinas has been decreasing in recent years. Recent programs such as public service announcement and sex education continue to help educate young Latinas and lower the risk of teen pregnancy. Nevertheless, Latinas still represent the group of people with the highest teen pregnancy. One in six Latinas between the ages of 14-20 will have a child at some point, and 30% of all Latino teenage parents have children out of wedlock.

Despite teenage pregnancy rates dropping more than fifty percent in recent years, it is within the Hispanic community that teen pregnancy continues to remain a serious public and social issue. When compared to other ethnic sectors in the United States, Hispanic females continue to hold a higher birth rate than others, being twice more than that of non-Hispanics. In general, there are the many apparent obstacles and consequences when dealing with this situation. Young adult parents must overcome educational, financial, and emotional problems months before their child is born.

In 2005, nearly half of all high school students have had sexual intercourse. Plainly stating that abstinence programs do not work (USA Today). Abstinence programs were beneficial many years ago, but since they are ineffective in delaying teen pregnancy, then teen pregnancy rate has increased. Abstinence programs teach the “no sex until marriage” clause, but they don’t teach teens about birth control and the consequences of having sex at before they’ve matured. Although many studies argue that abstinence programs are educational and beneficial, other studies will show that they don’t delay teen sex, they don’t prevent the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and are a waste of taxpayers’

We have all heard the stories about the rise in teenage pregnancies, girls dropping out of school to care for their newborns, and even those who get pregnant on purpose. This new trend is everywhere. Most parents fail to have the “talk” with their children and are left without the proper education regarding sex until its too late. With the current rates of teenage pregnancy correlated with the current rates of spreading epidemics of STD’s and HIV/AIDS, steps should be taken in an effort to aid the situation. Schools are a main source of information and education for teens, and are in a unique position that can provide adolescents with knowledgeable skills and understanding that promote sexual health. With consistent speculation surrounding

Although the rate of teen pregnancies has decreased since the early 90s, the rate of African-American teen pregnancies and Hispanic teen pregnancies is still significantly higher white American teens. “ According to the US Teen Pregnancy Statistics Among Black and Hispanic women 15-19 the nationwide pregnancy rate they both were higher than a white woman. Well It's because poverty plays a major role in why these teens are the higher ethnic group in teen pregnancy. A black or Hispanic girl are not as open, with birth control and some don't have the health care needed. Most teens aren’t as opened to telling their parents their having sex.

This article tells us how many school districts know about the problem, which is teen pregnancy. It tells how even when these girls ask their school for help and guidance, the school simply turns their back and walks away. The fact that more and more teens are becoming parents is a growing issue and this article is important because it truly shows how schools just stopped paying attention to the problem. This article helps my study because I also believe that our own school [Lanier] has simply given up on us. The research shows that a lot of white dominant schools aren’t facing these issues though. That these white schools offer there kids only the best support they can offer their kids, while majoring minority schools have been turned away

Teenage pregnancy has been viewed as an issue for many years, not only for teenage mothers but for babies as well. Much importance has been placed on this subject for the reason that although these rates are declining, they remain elevated. The United States represents over 600,000 American teen pregnancies every year, making this the highest rate in the industrialized world (Steinberg, 2017). Unfortunately, ethnic minorities in the United States have a predisposition to the many social, educational and economic disadvantages that in fact shape adolescent sexual behavior and lead to the decision of adolescent motherhood. This paper will illustrate teenage pregnancy rates over the last few years, the factors that impact teen pregnancy, contraception and the likelihood of teen pregnancies across different ethnic groups.

Abstinence only education is hindering the lives of teens in today’s world. Schools should stop teaching abstinence only education since, it increases the rate of teens having sexual relations with other people, it does not give students adequate lessons on preventing STDs, and the rate of teen pregnancy is higher for students who receive abstinence only education. As a nation we need to help teens protect themselves with this topic and most importantly approach it with caution. Many schools believe that abstinence only education is the most effective way to instruct students on the topic of sex when it clearly is not.

Continuing along, according to studies, there is a difference between ethnic/racial groups in the incidence and occurrence of adolescent pregnancies. According to the youngest age group (10-14 years), Africans Americans are disproportionately present (Cooper et al., 1995) and the same holds true among females who have had two consecutive pregnancies as an adolescent (Blankson et al., 1993). Additionally, in 1997, birth rates for adolescents (15-19 years) were thirty-six for non-Hispanic white females, eighty-eight point two for non-Hispanic black females, seventy-one point eight for non-Hispanic native Americans and ninety-seven point four for Hispanic females (Ventura & Freedman, 2000). Thus, this reflects a disparity among the ethnic/racial

Half of all new human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HIV infections in the United States and two thirds of all sexually transmitted diseases (STD) occur among young people under the age of 25 (Starkman, Rajani). It’s estimated that by the end of high school, nearly two thirds of American’s youth are sexually active, and one in five has had four or more sexual partners (Starkman, Rajani). Despite these alarming statistics, less than half of all public schools in the United States offer information on how to obtain contraceptives and most schools teach "abstinence only" education (Starkman, Rajani). Even more alarmingly there is little evidence that abstinence only curriculums are successful in encouraging teenagers from delaying

Most of us are familiar with the alarming statistics about teen sexual activity in the United States. Among high school students, 54 percent (including 61% of boys and 48% of girls) say they have had sexual intercourse. According to a 1992 Center for disease Control Study. The # of 9th Graders who say they 've had sex is 40%. In the past two decades, there has been an explosion in the # of sexually transmitted diseases. 12 million people are infected each year; 63 percent of them are under 25. Each year, 1 of every 10 teenage girls becomes pregnant, and more than 400,000 teenagers have abortions. 1 in 4 children is born out of wedlock, compared to 1 in 20 in 1960. We have realized that since they stopped teaching sexual education in high schools that the teen pregnancy rates have increased. Today, we will talk about the bad vs. good in sexual education and now it will benefit students in the future.

affected individuals. Teen mothers, their babies, the father, parents of the teen mother and father, and everyone in the United States to be exact are affected every year by teen pregnancies. Age, race, ethnicity and sex all come into play when talking about who is being affected by teen pregnancy. Ages fifteen to nineteen are the rage for teen girls being affected by teen pregnancy and both male and females are affected by the outcome of teen pregnancy. According to The PEW Charitable Trusts in 2013, Latina teens have the highest birth rate at 42 births per 1,000 teens and non-Hispanic white teens were 19 births per 1,000 teens (PEW, 2015). According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “teen girls who get pregnant are less likely to finish high school, more likely to rely on public assistance, more likely to be poor as adults, and are more likely to have kids who have poorer educational, behavioral, and health outcomes over the course of their lives than do kids born to older parents” (HHS, 2016). Teen pregnancy affects everyone in the United States, for example costing taxpayers

Reports display that abstinence-only curriculums do not decrease sexual intercourse by adolescent students. The United States Division of Health and Human Services publicized a report of abstinence curriculums. The authors revealed that conclusions from the study provided no indication that abstinence curriculums applied in elementary and middle schools are successful in decreasing the rate of adolescent or teenagers having sexual relations. Actually, teenagers did not benefit from all of the work and the millions of dollars that have been used into these curriculums. An additional study by Peter Bearman of Columbia University shows that over eighty-five percent of middle and high school students who vow to remain virgins until