Thesis, Term Paper, Essay, Research Paper

Teenagers are regarded as a young person whose age ranges from thirteen to nineteen years (WHO 2006). Psychologists also referred that this period in one’s life is adolescent period in which one is in transition between childhood behaviours and adult behaviour. Within this period, the teenager is faced with numerous developmental problems or risk, either fashioned by the adolescent is exposed to experimentation, curiosity and quest for freedom. These expectation largely results in unwanted pregnancy as stated by Noble (2007) as a girl-child pregnancy. In a related development according to WHO report, it was stated that in the United States of American, about 19% of adolescent give birth by twenty years of age.

Specifically, the students with lack of knowledge about early pregnancy can be benefited in this research. Teenage pregnancy is a serious issue in our society today where people become pregnant because they are not informed.  This study can also help in prevention of being pregnant at the early age. It can give us information on how personality, attitudes, lifestyle and social status in the community affect the early teenage pregnancy. It will teach you what you should avoid and causes of being pregnant.

A baby is a great responsibility that requires a lot of care and attention. Also, the cost involved is high. For example, a study conducted in Europe shows that only 15 percent of adolescent pregnancies are planned. In addition, half of all teenage pregnancies occur six months after a teenager becomes sexually active (Miller 1997). Adolescent pregnancy is considered a risk to maternal and child health, as well as a factor that contributes to the excessive growth of the population, dropout, and the perpetuation of poverty, by limiting the possibilities for personal and family development. Its causes are attributed mainly to early sexuality and lack of information and access to contraceptive methods.

Adolescent pregnancy is a widely researched and debated topic in psychology. Teen pregnancy rates in the United States have dropped significantly over the last two decades from 6.2% in 1990 to 2.7% in 2013, a 56% decrease, for women aged 15-19. Despite the sharp decline, concerns about the consequences of adolescent childbearing have not decreased.

Lewis (1992) There are many factors to child bearing of young teenagers and ration between pregnancy and the influence. Eugene Milewide (1992) stated that the U.S healthcare system is for the protection of children. (pg.186) There are many different statistics that are used to measure the level of changes to end teenage child bearing (Eugene M. Lewit, 1992, pg. 187) According to Eugene M Lewit (1992) the factors in teen pregnancy are social life, personal life and the influence of birth. (pg. 188) The rate of childbearing seems to be increasing from the rate it was a few years ago, (Eugene M. Lewit, 1992, pg.189) The significance of this article is how the outside factors influence childbearing and teenagers. There are system’s in place to protect teenagers and their

Teen pregnancy has been a serious social issue for quite a while. Often, a teen pregnancy is detrimental for both the teen and the child involved. Both a teen mother and her child are more susceptible to complications during the pregnancy and birth than and adult mother and her child. Unfortunately, a teen mother and her infant are also less likely to pursue and receive healthcare to alleviate these health risks (Teen Pregnancy). Moreover, “teen pregnancy is often cited as a factor that perpetuates the cycle of poverty, since teen mothers are likely to be poor in the first place, and their children are likely to grow up to be poor” (Teen Pregnancy). While there is no argument that teens should be educated to prevent teen pregnancy, there is a debate on how it should be done. Currently, there are two forms of education focused on reducing teen pregnancies: abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education with birth control. However, sex education and birth control are clearly the superior option, due to its effectiveness and the futility of abstinence-only education.

In the United States, teenage pregnancy is examined and viewed as a socially constructed problem. Through the years, the rates of teen pregnancy have slowly been declining, but the U.S. rate in teen pregnancy is still one of the highest in the developed world. Every year, more than one million teenagers between the ages of 15-19 become pregnant (Monahan 2002). Teens in poor, uneducated and rural communities are found to be at a higher risk of teen pregnancy. More than one-third of sexually active

Although the teenage pregnancy rates in the United States (US) are currently at its lowest in a period of 40 years, it still tops the list amongst developed countries. According to Kost and Henshaw (2012), approximately 6.78% of young women aged between15–19(nearly 750,000 teenagers) become pregnant every year. Finer and Zolna (2011) stated that 82% of these pregnancies are unintended. Moreover, because the average menarche age has reached about 12 or 13 years old (Potts, 1990), which is an all-time low. BThis is ecause for every ten young women, six engage in sex as teenagers (Martinez et al., 2011), most of these girls are at high risk of conceiving.

Teen pregnancy and how it has become so common in our society is a difficult topic to dissect. It is a concerning issue which is faced with plenty of controversy and criticism from various groups that make up our society. To understand the ever evolving complexity in this matter, one must educate themselves on how the roles of women and men have changed in our society over many decades, if not centuries. There are many areas to investigate about adolescent pregnancy and how it has developed into a global issue. Adolescent pregnancy has challenged this nation for many years. This study will examine how this issue creates complications that severely impacts various aspects of our society and to also understand that our society has

Although there is the reported statistical decline, adolescent pregnancy still remains an issue in both developed and developing regions of the world in the twenty-first century. However, what seems to be lacking is the overview of adolescent pregnancy issue rather than looking for solutions to prevent such a concept. Therefore, the objective of this assignment will look at the key behavioral, cultural, and environmental risk factors. Certain risk factors include:

assert that no social problem affecting youths has received as much attention in recent times as adolescent pregnancy. Literature shows that 13 million children are born to women under the age of 20 worldwide while 95% of the teenagers experience an unintended pregnancy. Increased Attention has finally been given to teenage pregnancy as a public health issue due to the realization of the abnormal prevalence, number of affected people, high levels of psychological distress, and high morbidity rates as well as the painfully apparent social and economic / public welfare cost of teenage childbearing and parenthood

The social issue I will be addressing throughout my paper is teen pregnancy. The term teen pregnancy is referring to teens between the ages of 13-19 who become pregnant (Akella & Jordan, 2015). Despite the fact that teen pregnancy rates have dropped within the past twenty years, United States continues to have the highest rates of teen pregnancy in comparison to all other developed nations ( Akella & Jordan, 2015). Teen pregnancy is a serious issue for a multiplicity of reasons. A teenager who has a baby is more susceptible to face many social issues in their future such as poverty, poor education, bad behaviors, health issues, and child welfare (Akella & Jordan, 2015). A multitude of persons throughout the United States are continuously questioning what can we do to reduce the rates and negative affects of teen pregnancy within our country. Many continue to also question whether or not our present-day social policies regarding teen pregnancy are practical.

The issue of teen pregnancy in the United States first garnered the public’s attention in the 1950s. Beginning with the Carter administration, every succeeding presidential administration highlights teen pregnancy as social issue that needs to be addressed (Furstenberg, 2007). The issue of teen pregnancy was first noted in the early 1950s. In Post WWII America, birth rates rose at a staggering rate among all women (Colby, 2014). In this time period, marriage and child bearing were still inextricably linked and marriage among teens also rose. Due to teens tendency to marry due to an unintended pregnancy, the issue of teen pregnancy did not gain much attention during this decade.

Each year, more than a half-million U.S. girls in their teens or younger become pregnant. Teenage pregnancy is an important issue for several reasons. For example, there are health risks for the baby and the children born to teenage mothers are more likely to suffer health, social, and emotional problems than children born to older mothers. Teenage mothers are less likely to gain adequate weight during their pregnancy, leading to low birth weight. Low birth weight is associated with several infant and childhood disorders and a higher rate of infant mortality. Babies with low birth weight are more likely to to have organs that are not fully developed, which can result in complications such as, bleeding in the brain, respiratory distress syndrome, and intestinal problems. Many people in society do not realize the complications a teenage mother and her baby can endure. Preventing teenage pregnancy can be a challenge, but there are solutions to help reduce the causes of teenage pregnancy around the United States. Some causes of teenage pregnancy in society are, lack of safe sex education, teenage drinking, and peer pressure. If many more people were aware of the causes of teenage pregnancy, they would be able to help provide solutions to help reduce the problem. The solutions to teenage pregnancy could also help impact and reduce other societal ills, such as, poverty, crime rates, and high school dropout rates.

Teenage pregnancy leads to a plethora of negative consequences for both mother and child. Educational effects include lower academic achievement and lower graduation rates (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], only about 50% of teen mothers will receive a high school diploma by the age of twenty-two (“Reproductive Health”, 2017). This is significantly lower than the 90% of women who earn a high school diploma by age twenty-two and do not have a child in their adolescent years (CDC, “Reproductive Health”,2017). Teenage mothers