Teenage Pregnancy During Adolescent Years

Teen pregnancy is surprisingly decreasing over the years. According to Farber, “the most recent studies have shown that there has been a decrease in the rate of pregnancies among all teenagers and among sexually active teenagers (16). Although this issue seems is decreasing this is still a problem faced by many teenage girls today. Each year, 7.5 percent of all 15-19 year old women become pregnant (Maynard 1). Not only does this issue affects the pregnant teen but it also affects the economy. Teen pregnancy affects graduation rates. Many teen mothers cite pregnancy as the key reason of them not finishing school. Only 40 percent of teen mothers finish high school (Teen Pregnancy Affects Graduation Rates). The 60 percent of teen mothers

The role of educating students about the importance of healthy sexual relationships has fallen hard and fast on public schools. School aged boys and girls are not receiving information from their parents on what decisions they should make in regards to sex. Parents are finding this topic of conversation too taboo to breach and as a result, students are getting what little information they are receiving from school. Less then half of school aged adolescents talk to their parents about sex and abstinence (Smith, 2005).

Our generation of teens has become too prone of sexual activity with less worry of the consequences it comes along with. Most teenagers, ages 15 through 19, are sexually active, approximately 30 percent being of the ages 15 and 16. Many young teens have not been exposed to all the repercussions, such as risk of pregnancy and STDs, that sex can result in. Our schools need to provide better sex education courses and require students to receive credit in them.

Teens are using the internet and the media to learn about sex, if they are not getting the information from credible sources at school. The perpetuation of sexual objectification in the media can influence young adults, especially young girls. Half naked women are all over magazines, internet and television. This images along with shows such as Teen Mom, can add to the confusion and curiosity about sexual behavior. If these young students are bombarded with all of these over sexualized ideas in the media, but only are told to abstain from sex, it can cause many issues for the students. One side of society tells these students that sex is a positive act, while abstinence only programs tell them that sex is bad and to avoid

No one can deny that the number of pregnant teenagers has gone up in the last fifty years. Many teens are clueless of the consequences that sexual acts can have, “The CDC has found that over half of the STD’s contracted are by young adults.” (Steinmetz) Not only can it cause an unwanted pregnancy but it can also cause sexually transmitted diseases.

Linda Mangel pointed out that: “Pregnancy is the #1 reason girls drop out of school.” (Mangel, American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, Inc. Seattle Washington US.). Although most people may argue that teen pregnancy can be an issue all over the world, it has been found to be “Approximately 70% of teenage girls who give birth leave school” (Mangel,

Thesis Statement: Today’s society enables and encourages teenagers to engage in sexual activity and because of this; teens are putting themselves at risk for life changing problems that can be avoided by remaining sexually inactive.

There are a plethora of students who are sexually active. Many without the usage of protection. According to TheNationalCampaign,org, nearly one-third of teen girls dropping out of high school clarify that early parenthood is a prime reason for the removal of their educational career. Struggling with the body related changes, falling behind in schoolwork, and the embarrassment is

Teenage sexual activity has sparked an outcry within the nation. With such activity comes a high price. Studies have shown that there has been a significant rise in the number of children with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), emotional and psychological problems, and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Sex has always been discussed publically by the media, television shows, music and occasionally by parents and teachers in educational context. Teens hear them, and as the saying goes, “monkey see, monkey do”, they are tempted to experiment with it. Therefore, it is important for every teenager to be aware of the outcome associated with premature-sex. If students are educated about the impact of

My mother always said “You are a princess and your body is a temple, so treat it like one”. As I grew up, that was the phrase that made a profound impact on my childhood. My parents felt that for me to be confident and successful, I would have to be at peace emotionally and physically during the most crucial years of my growth. They always said “Do not become another one of the statistics!”. In my early teenage years I believed that they kept me sheltered, but now in my freshmen year of college, I could not be more thankful for their guidance and protection. At the time I did not understand what she meant, but after my years in high school it all made sense. I, like many other teens, would gain knowledge on relationships and sexuality. In this country teen pregnancy has high increase in minorities, one of the main reasons why the population is expanding. It is through proper knowledge of sexuality and protection that female teens are able to prevent pregnancy.

In High school, teenagers are in the phase of experiencing new found attractions. For most students, it is a time for discovering themselves and their likes in other people as they develop serious relationships. Others have a slower growing experience than most students when it comes to being popular and outgoing. In addition, there are those students whose parents are religious and go against the act of sexual conduct and contraceptives. The onset of puberty mixed with various forms of peer pressure creates these types of sexual dilemmas, such as relationships and advanced sexual relationships. According to the CDC, “[Nearly] 47 percent of [High School students] had sexual intercourse” (Valbrun). In contrary to religious views, it is beneficial to make condoms available while in high school since it can help lower the risk of sexually transmitted diseases among teens, the risk of teen pregnancies, and as well as reduce the number of abortions among High School teens.

“The United States has the highest adolescent STD rate in the developed world, approximately 3 million teenagers acquire an STD each year.” (Coyle, K.B., B., P., B., H., B., W. 181). Sex Ed, has been a debated issue for decades in the public school system. The issue on whether to make this knowledge reachable to young, developing minds is still at question till this day. The battle is having parents consent to this material for their child to be taught. When parents do not give consent and the school system does not provide this option, it only hurts their child they lose useful knowledge causing teen pregnancies rates to go up, as well as STD rates to skyrocket, and leading teens to make poor choices that become habitual causing long-term negative effects.

The subject and reality of teenagers being sexually active is concerning to millions of parents worldwide. Myself, being the mom of a 15-year-old boy, I am part of that enormous number. In the age of adolescence (13-19 years), when an individual gradually transitions from childhood to adulthood, hormones, puberty infused body development, peer pressure, and a search for themselves causes teenagers to try all kinds of things they associate with adult life, authority, and self-affirmation; sex is usually one of the “adult” attributes teenagers often experiment with. The decision to start having sex so early in life does not come without a cost, a cost that can lead well into adulthood. Research has revealed that teenagers who have casual sex get lower grades and have more school-related problems compared with those who abstain. In addition to the damaging effect that teenage sex has on academic development, research demonstrates that adolescents are not yet cognitively and emotionally matured to navigate the challenges of sex (Reyna and Farley 2006; Steinberg 2007), decades of research have associated teenage sexual to a variety of psychosocial adjustment problems, including depression, suicidality, poor school performance, low aspirations, delinquency, substance use, victimization, and disrupted family relationships (Connolly and McIsaac 2009; Kotchik et al. 2001; Zimmer-Gembeck and Helfand 2008). It is very normal for teenagers to develop sexual interests and feelings as

Teenage sexuality has risen and has become a standard phenomenal in societies. However, there are still some major problems that derive from this issue.

Like Amy and Loeber (2009), when it comes to the ecological paradigm of teenage pregnancy, Corcoran, Franklin, and Bennett (2000) also believe one’s socioeconomic status is a huge factor that contributes to this problem. A person’s socioeconomic status a lot of times determines “education, expanded family size, single-parent household structure, and lessened resources in terms of employment and income.” These three authors claim that educational performance and goals “dictate the potential costs of child bearing at a young age.” Their studies have also shown that teenage girls’ relationships with the school setting and poorer performance in school serve a greater risk for adolescent pregnancy.