Then, following connecting the causes and responses to teenage pregnancy and parenthood, the validity and effectiveness of the policy responses will be assessed. Successes and shortcomings will be considered, along with suggestions as to what policy and structural changes would be more advantageous. Finally, this paper will conclude that teen pregnancy is a structural issue not individual one, if it can even be considered an issue at all. Policy changes alone will not be sufficient, as social and economic disadvantage does not go away if one doesn’t get pregnant. Instead, it involves targeting societal values at their root, which is not socially or economically as simple as just introducing reports and growing a social panic largely against those who already face many obstacles.
Planned Parenthood programs are important programs to help individuals learn family planning. Sex education programs like Get Real which is a comprehensive sex education program taught in middle schools and high schools has rendered successful results (Berenson, 2014). Teens are still learning about life and are very susceptible to their environment. A study on young girls who say they are pregnant at age seventeen, because their mothers had them at age seventeen is an example of Banduras (1986) social cognitive theory of learning by observation (Oppong, 2014). These negative behaviors teens exhibit when they do not have a relationship between their fathers affects girls and boys
Multiple factors influence the rate of teen pregnancy. Some of the most important factors influencing pregnancy rates are socioeconomic status, education, and family income. With low socioeconomic status and income, parents may not always be present in their children’s lives in order to educate them on sex. School districts, then, take on the responsibility to educate teenagers on sexual intercourse and safe practices, but some fail. Stanger-Hall, K. F., & Hall, D. W. provided statistics showing that while many schools push abstinence-only programs, they show little to no positive impact on preventing teen pregnancies (Stanger-Hall, K. F., & Hall, D. W. (n.d.)). While abstinence may work for some, it is not realistic to believe that all teens will abide by it. Teens need a comprehensive sexual education with emphasis on safe sex practices, which is where Be Safe, Not Sorry comes into play. The comprehensive program will cover all
One major problem in America’s society today is teen pregnancy rates. In fact, “teen sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing are associated with substantial social, economic, and health costs” (Sedgwick). However, this problem is not one without a solution. The rise of teen pregnancy rates can be prevented and reversed by providing better access to birth control for teens, eliminating the negative connotation that accompanies abstinence, and implementing more efficient sex education in public schools.
36, Issue 143, Libra Publishers Incorporated, 2001, pp. 571-582. This experimental program examined the effects role-playing can have on teenage pregnancy. Instead of merely educating teens in a classroom style, the designers used lifelike infant dolls to show teens the harsh realities of parenting. They believe that teens have unsafe sex because the teens have an “It can’t happen to me” mindset. The main problem with teen pregnancy is the lack of perspective adolescents have when it comes to the issue. Their goal was to not only change the participant’s attitudes on the difficulties of parenting but to also help the teens see that this could happen to any one of them. They provided classroom education alongside the intervention and surveyed teens from the control and experimental groups to draw results. The adolescents in the experimental group had changed attitudes on the effects of teen pregnancy and the consequences of choosing to have unsafe sexual intercourse, while the control group did not. The article then discusses the program’s limitations, including a lack of gender equality. The program was not required at the high school it took place in, and fewer males signed up than did females. This source provides yet another solution to enhance my next essay. It also focuses on a different main problem than any other source. This source is important to the issue of teen pregnancy because it provides a psychological approach that most programs do not bring. It provides an unusual approach, which may be best when tackling a problem that has been going on for decades. It has a good balance of logos and pathos, making it perfect to use for a problem-solution
The controversial topic of whether or not sex education curriculum should teach contraceptive use or abstinence-only is heavily debated. In 2013, the U.S. totaled 273,105 babies born by teenagers, ages from 15 to 19 (“About Teen Pregnancy”). This raises the question: why is the number of pregnancies so high? Is the reason for that unsettling high, number because abstinence-only is being taught or contraceptive use is being taught? Students who are taught abstinence-only are more likely to wait to have sex, which results in the lowering of teen pregnancy. The abstinence-only curriculum also reduces students sexual activity.The sex education curriculum in the U.S. should consist of abstinence-only education.
Ultimately, the matter of whether infant simulator programmes are an effective tool for reducing positive attitudes to teenage parenthood and pregnancy rates, when scrutinised by scientific evidence, demonstrates that, contrary the creator of these programmes’ intentions, the results of their usage more often than not, if not neutral and thus unnecessary, may in fact worsen the situation and promote positive attitudes rather than subdue
“In 2013, a total of 273,105 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years.” (CDC). As these numbers are shocking to many Americans, schools still have not taken the initiative to teach efficient sex education. Although some teenagers are receiving sex education, most are not being taught it in a successful way. Sex education can be explained in two different procedures: comprehensive or abstinence only. The difference between the two is that comprehensive sex education teaches abstinence as a secondary choice, and teens that decide not to wait should be informed on how to use birth control when participating in sexual activity. Comprehensive sex education is a method that should be required in all schools and is the most effective way to keep
Though reproduction of offspring outside of wedlock has been going on since the beginning of time, it has been drawn to my attention, not only in the world around me, but in my own community, that teenage pregnancy is just as big as an issue. Callow reproduction among teenagers became a social issue when pregnancy rates hit an all time high in the 1950s and early 1960s (“The History...”). As of 2013, there were 273,105 children born to American teenagers ranging from the age 15 to 19. Though teenage pregnancy is on a decline (down 47% from 1991), it is still a huge issue in the world we live in, affecting not only themselves, but their families and the communities they inhabit (Martin).
Let us face it, no one can stop young teenagers from having sex, and abstinence only education program systems are not only ineffective, but unrealistic as well. Sexual behavior and the reproductive health of adolescents have emerged into radical public health matters (Danawi, 2016). For years, schools have aimed to save sex education for high school students, but now with the rising numbers in unintended teen pregnancies, there needs to be a transition into contraceptive education at an earlier age. There are many threats that are posed with ineffective education regarding contraceptives and fertility control. For global health to be attained; younger generations need to be educated about where they can get contraceptive options, it is a necessity for low income areas to be informed about access to reduced contraceptive costs due to ObamaCare, and male education needs to be considered more for the involvement of fertility control (Planned Parenthood, 2016).
Quindlen, “Sex Ed” Wake Tech: English 111 Reader, edited by Wayde Vickrey, et al., 2nd ed., Hayden Mcneil, 2017, pp. 209-211. In “Sex Ed” Quindlen tells a story of when she was in one of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods, at a family planning clinic. While she visited the clinic, she came to find herself at a table with a few sixteen year old girls. As Quindlen listened to the girl's conversation, she could tell they were very knowledgeable when it came to sex, contraception, and the human body. She found this to be ironic due to the fact that they were all pregnant. In the author's opinion, simply informing children of the mechanics of sex is not enough to decrease the rate of teenage pregnancy but rather teach them the moral repercussions of sex in addition to the mechanics.
A teen girl walks from her bathroom with a gloomy look in her eyes. Her pregnancy test is positive. In today’s society sexual education is being taught less and teens are learning more about sexual intercourse from television instead of learning it from their parents and their schools. To prevent teen pregnancy parents should promote sexual education, contraception, and rely less on television teaching sex education. We cannot stop children from gaining their hormones but we can teach them how to protect themselves against teen pregnancies if we teach them about sex.
Teen pregnancy prevention is an increasingly controversial and a potentially inconvenient topic of discussion for both teens and their parents alike (Sabia, 2006). As teen pregnancy rates have increased, there has been an increased focus on combatting the underlying causes and reversing their effects (Bennett & Assefi, 2005). Teen pregnancy can result in an increased number of children placed in adoptive services, as well as, cause a strain on teenage parents who chose to take on the responsibilities of parenthood at an early age. By researching the effects of various school-based sex education programs on teen birth rates; it would be possible to establish a standardized sex education curriculum to minimize the number of children put into the adoption system and the number of teenagers whose lives are affected by pregnancy (Somers, Johnson, & Sawilowsky, 2002).
"Teen pregnancy in the United States: In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years old, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. This is another record for U.S. teens and a drop of 8% from 2014. Although reasons for the declines are not totally clear, evidence suggests these declines are due to more teens abstaining from sexual activity, and more teens who are sexually active using birth control than in previous years. Still, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations, and racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in teen birth rates persist (cdc.gov)." As teenagers (in the United States), we are peer pressured or tempted to try new things. Some teens tend to try out drugs, and alcohol. However, some are having unprotected sex in which, is leads to having babies. This is called, teenage pregnancy. This has caused the United States to create records based off of the statistics and facts given from, researchers across the United States. In order to help prevent teenage pregnancy in the United States, teenagers must understand why, having a baby now isn’t such a smart move on their part.
In the Journal of School Health, in May 2001 was an article entitled “Effectiveness of the 'Baby Think It Over' Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program” by Cheryl Somers, Cheryl and Mariane Fahlman speaks of a program that many school systems have adopted called “Baby Think It Over.” This program is a computerized simulation of a baby and the responsibilities that parents have to endure. It is geared towards teen-agers because the teen pregnancy rates in America are at least double of any country with similar economic background and culture. This article further evaluates the effectiveness of this new program using a controlled study in which 151 experimental students and 62 controlled subjects were used. These were all high school students of a suburban area of a Midwestern city. The average age of the students was 16.2 and they were all middle-class primarily white students, both male and female. Numerous studies were conducted, with inconclusive evidence of the programs effectiveness. One study showed that the subjects understood and had more realistic impressions of having children, while another showed that the students had no change of intentions in regards to teen parenting. This particular study