Psychosocial Development and the Effects of Teenage Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy continues to be a problem in America even though the CDC documents a decrease from 2007-2009 in all racial groups. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). Reducing the number of pregnancies in teens 15-17 is a core indicator identified by Healthy People 2020 to assess the status of adolescent health. Children born to teens are at risk for health concerns from being of low birth weight and having poor prenatal care such as delayed development. (Magness, 2012). Repeat pregnancy, dependence on welfare, and poverty are some of the results of adolescent pregnancy. Teen mothers tend to have health problems such as hypertension, and anemia and are at high risk for early delivery. Magness looks at the issue from the teen’s viewpoint and discusses the idea that some teens become pregnant to provide stability in an otherwise chaotic life and can gain maturity from the experience. Emphasis on continuing their education after delivery can prevent repeat pregnancies. Lack of productive or positive social activities or guidance can leave room for a teen to indulge in risky behavior to occupy their time. Peer pressure and influence from present day norms can cause teenagers to give in to early onset of sexual activity (Kirven, 2014). Finding after school or extracurricular activities can promote a healthier self

In the motion picture The Pregnancy Pact a group of high school girls, no older than sixteen, make a pact to become pregnant. Their goal, instead of graduating together, was to have only girls and raise them together. Throughout the movie the girls make references to the pregnant Jamie-Lynn Spears and the movie Juno stating that being fifteen or sixteen and pregnant was the most glamorous thing that could happen to them and not one thing would top being pregnant. This didn't end that way though. Instead the girls realized that having a child so young is not a walk in the park. The media’s perception of teenage pregnancy has changed over time from being a social taboo to a glamorous after school activity. This change

Her life becomes a lot more complicated when she finds out she is pregnant. Farrah’s best friend turns on her spreading nasty rumors, forcing Farrah to finish school online. Farrah's ex-boyfriend, also the baby's father, begins to harass her after he finds out she is pregnant which leads her to change her number. “I would have never lost my virginity to someone I believed would treat me like this,” Farrah exclaims about her ex-boyfriend. Farrah struggles with single motherhood and has to deal with a judgmental parent who looks down upon her decisions. Episode two again reinforces traditional American cultural beliefs of female gender roles by portraying the woman as the single mother, ultimately responsible for the child, showing the girl dealing with emotional problems while trying to hold the family together, tasks and situations often associated with femininity. These images become engrained on a young viewers minds and being sixteen and pregnant becomes just another fad for young girls to consider.

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.

Society in general is currently addressing the social problem of teen pregnancy in several ways. One of the most important is an increase in parent’s willingness to not only bring the issue up and discuss it with their children, but also allowing educators to address the issue in schools.

It is very common for young adults in the United States to become young parents as early as fifteen years old. In 2014, approximately 24 young women out of a thousand got pregnant from the ages of 15-19. Although this is about a 9% drop sing 2013, teen pregnancy is still a major issue among young, developing adolescents (CDC, 2016). This lifestyle shift has raised many personal concerns within young mothers and fathers about how they will raise their child, but most importantly, how they will prevent another unwanted or unprepared pregnancy. Although prevention in the form of birth control and educational programs are available to young adults, it is common for teenage parents to become pregnant once again shortly after having their first

The teenage birth rate has always been at an all-time high in the United States. In 2009, alone statics from the Disease control prevention estimated “13.5 births for every 1,000 teens” (Blue). Bringing a child into this world is a blessing, unfortunately, sometimes the timing can be off. A child is a huge responsibility sad to say not every person can handle the full-time duty of being a parent. It can get complicated when you are a mother at such a young age. For this reason, teenage girls should acquire birth control methods to prevent getting pregnant, abstinence can help teenagers from catching an std, and allow them to stay focus stopping the drop out rate of teens moms in high schools.

a : Teen pregnancy can affect the moms education, the mom and child’s well being, and the family’s financial stability.

An ongoing epidemic in the United Sates is teen pregnancy. In America, our society is run down by many problems. Most are caused by the older generation, but this problem has risen with the younger generation around the age of 15-19. The peak of the teen pregnancy trend started in 1990 when 60 teen girls out of 1,000 had a teen birth ("About Teen Pregnancy.”). For every 1,000 females in 2013, on average only 27 out of the 1,000 had gone through teen birth ("About Teen Pregnancy.”). Over the years, it seems that the trend is winding down and that less and less teens appear to becoming pregnant. In 2013, the teen pregnancy rate decreased by 10% since 2012 and 57% 1990 ("Teen Birth Rate | The National Campaign.”).

“People look at it so negatively but our show has opened so many eyes…we all have such a different story, and everybody relates to us” Maci Bookout from 16 and pregnant. 16 and pregnant was a hit American reality show which is shown on MTV, it was created in 2009 and centres around 4 16 year old girls pregnancy journey. After the show was aired it created a lot of controversy on wether the show educates the public about teenage pregnancies or wether it glamorises teenage pregnancies and allowed it to turn into a trend. The spin off show ‘Teen Mom’ was created to try and settle the controversy and show people that it does educate their viewers as teen mom follows the girls after they leave the hospital and shows viewers the hardship of being a teen mother.

Research article authors Nicole Martins and Robin E. Jensen, intended to study the relationship between MTV’s series “Teen Mom” reality show and teenagers’ unrealistic beliefs about what is like to be a teen mom. The seven motivations for asking “why” are used to convince the audience that it is worthy of research by exploring the relationship with the intentions to discredit the previous findings that state, “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” is one of the best public service campaign to prevent teen pregnancy. This topic presents a number of complications in the lives of both induvial and societal as a whole; providing evidence to answer the readers question on why this topic is of importance and worthy of research. Yearly, $7 billion are taxed to all U.S citizens for welfare and healthcare relating to teen pregnancy, driving the United States to the top as the highest rated country with teen pregnancy. Consequently, almost half of teen mothers are unable to receive a high school diploma; leading to lower occupation income for both fathers and mothers. I myself have personally witnessed the toll it takes on one’s life from three women who became mothers at a young age. Many teens are unaware of the high risks and consequences of becoming pregnant or are in denial of the possibility. Being able to be a part of their journey has increased my belief of the importance on this topic and related research.

Hollywood portrays this teenage pregnancy in a comedic way that entertains the audience yet informs them about the realness of teenage pregnancy. Luttrell states, “The media flurry surrounding these events featured warnings that ‘celebrity culture’ is endangering young women’s minds, glamorizing teen pregnancy when it used to be stigmatizing”(Luttrell 4). Luttrell emphasizes the large influence that the celebrity culture has a on young women and how by making something acceptable or unacceptable in their world, young women become misguided.

With the increasing media level of TV programming, for instance, MTV's hit unscripted TV programs Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, there appears, all around, to be an expanded and clearing sensible talk over the motivations behind interest or insufficiencies offered event to feel apprehensions about assistant school get-togethers of individuals study this sort of programming. Completions of stagger, helplessness, charm, sensitivity, shock, insult, satisfaction, fault, and possibly even pre-envisioned and mixed up slants can be founded. Vigorous pregnancy impacts around 750,000 high schooler young women age fifteen to nineteen constantly. That is taking all things into account indistinguishable to one in three U.S. discretionary school young

As one of the most watched shows MTV has to offer, “16 and Pregnant” is an influential piece of media being consumed by teenagers across America. The controversy surrounding the influence of the popular TV show places it in an envelope of drastic life situations parents could never imagine their children in. The number of parents who have come in contact with the show have derided it’s cautionary element of it exhibitions of the tribulations that being a young parent places on a child, and refused to let it across their TV screens at home. However, a different view of parenting would suggest that the show provides an in depth look at what a life with a baby would mean for a young adult. With the shows popular influence over teenagers, which

"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.