Causes of Teenage Pregnancy - Literature review Example

Causes of teenage pregnancy I. INTRODUCTION This paper is going to look after the various causes that are related to teen pregnancy. Though the term is in itself gets twisted regarding the limitation of age still; 18 years, will be considered as a standard age for a woman to attain adulthood. In a country like United States, teenage pregnancy mean, an under-aged girl becoming pregnant. The definition gets more specific in the United Kingdom. In UK, if a girl before her 18th birthday becomes pregnant, then she will be called a teenage pregnant girl. In general the term is applicable for all those women who have not reached an age of majority legal adulthood and is pregnant. This particular margin of being an adult woman varies from one place to another. Teenage pregnancy is a social issue in developed countries. This also comprised of the issues related to lower educational levels and higher rates of poverty. In general the teenage pregnancy in developed countries takes place outside marriage. It is also responsible for caring a social stigma in many communities and cultures. On the contrary in the developing world, teenage pregnancy is usually within marriage and thus socially accepted without any social stigma1. It has led to many studies and campaigns, in order to find the causes and limit the numbers of teenage pregnancies2. The aim of the paper is to concentrate on the health factor of teenage girls, who attain pregnancy at a young age below 15. The specific points that this paper will highlight is on the chief causes related to pregnancy, especially in developed countries. The issues which are basically related to adolescent sexual behaviour, age discrepancy in relationships or the statutory rape, sexual abuse, dating violence, socioeconomic factors and above all the childhood environment of a girl. II. LITERARY REVIEW In accordance to a static review of California's in the year 1990, the fact that got revealed was that men older than high school age sired 77 percent of all births to high school-aged girls of ages 16-18. The report also specifies that 51 percent of births to junior high school-aged girls of 15 and younger. The sources also gave the statistics that men over age 25 fathered twice as many teenage births as did boys under age 18. As opposed to these, men over age 20 fathered five times more births to junior high school-aged girls than did junior high school-aged boys. In the year 1992 Washington State made an elaborate study of 535 adolescent mothers. The research found that 62 percent of the teenage mothers had had a history of rape or sexual molestation by men whose ages averaged 27 years. As compared with non-abused mothers, abused adolescent mothers initiated sex earlier. These mothers had sex with much older partners, and engaged in riskier, more frequent, and promiscuous sex. The Population Reference Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics came up with the fact that about two-thirds of births to teenage girls in the United States are fathered by adult men age 20 or older.3 Authors like Jon Slater, Therese Locoh, Sandra Hofferth, D.S. Kalmuss and P.B Namerow had contributed a lot in digging out the causes of teenage pregnancy and their studies are going to be the basis of this paper. The equal concentration will be on Locoh, Therese. (2000). "Early Marriage And Motherhood In Sub-Saharan Africa.", along with Mehta, Suman, Groenen, Riet, & Roque, Francisco’s ‘United Nations Social and Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific. (1998). Journals like ‘Adolescents in Changing Times’ will also get studied. Studies made by Rebecca Wind, from Guttmacher Institute gave some important information and thus the paper is going to check that too. The concern will also be on the issue that got highlighted in 2006, about the teenage pregnancy rate. The issue is of great concern as it began to rise once again for the first time in fourteen years. Researches and studies led by "U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Rate Drops For 10th Straight Year" and H. Dryburgh’s Teenage pregnancy (2002). Health Reports will also be speculated. All the studies will be made the basis for the supply of primary and secondary related to the causes and the factors leading to teenage pregnancies. III. Methodology Early marriage is the chief and basic cause of a teenage pregnancy. This is a common issue in the developing countries and not in developed countries, like US or UK. However in the developed countries most teenage pregnancies appear to be unplanned. It is the result of lack of contraceptive use4. Adolescent sexual behaviour is another major factor of teenage pregnancy in the developed countries. Most of the adolescents lack knowledge of conventional methods of preventing pregnancy. The reasons may be embarrassment or fear to seek such information5. Due to the improper use of condoms, the use of contraception results to be inadequate for inexperienced adolescents. One of the vital causes of teenage pregnancy is also the matter of age discrepancy in relationships. Statutory rapes are also counted as one of the chief causes. A teenage girl with older partner and in particular adult men, are more likely to become pregnant than those with partners closer in age. In such cases the girl is more likely to carry the baby to term rather than receiving an abortion. Sexual abuse is a majority factor in pregnancies under age 15. This is irrespective of being a developing or a developed country. In developed countries it is a minority factor, yet a factor in itself. 2/3rds of births to teenage girls in the United States are fathered by adult men age 20 and over6. Having sex with a minor in developed countries is treated as statutory rape. This however, differs according to the jurisdiction. In United States many states outlaw sex with anyone under 18, whereas in the United Kingdom it is illegal for a man to have sex with a girl under 16. Variations still persists, as in Italy it is not illegal unless she is under 14, and in Spain or the Netherlands it is legal unless she is under 12. In the developed countries, the adolescent girls are often in abusive relationships at the time of their conceiving7. A study made in UK found that 70% of women who gave birth in their teens had experienced adolescent domestic violence. In the U.S, a Washington study found 70% of teenage mothers had been beaten by their boyfriends, 51% had experienced attempts of birth control sabotage within the last year, and 21% experienced school or work sabotage. As a consequence the knowledge of their pregnancy has often intensified violent and controlling behaviours on part of their boyfriends8. The socioeconomic factors are also some of the inevitable causes towards teenage pregnancy. Most of the reasons are due to poverty9. Studies have shown that in the UK, around half of all pregnancies to fewer than 18 are concentrated among the 30% most deprived population. Among this there is only 14% occurring among the 30% at the least deprived. In case of a developed country like Italy, the teenage birth rate in the well-off central regions is only 3.3 per 1,00010. As charity begins at home, most of the abuses are faced by women from their homes. The sequences related to the domestic violence and family strife in childhood is more likely than those without such experiences to have a teenage pregnancy. The risk continues to increase with the number of adverse childhood experiences. According to a study in 2004, it has been found that one-third of teenage pregnancies could be prevented by eliminating exposure to abuse, violence and family strife. It has also been noted that family dysfunction has enduring and unfavorable health consequences for women during their course of life. The situations vary when the family environment does not include adverse childhood experiences. The changed environment creates the reasons for becoming pregnant as an adolescent does not appear to raise the likelihood of long-term, negative psychosocial consequences11. IV. ANALYSIS According to Guttmacher Institute, sex by age 20 is the norm across the world. The countries which have got low levels of adolescent pregnancy accept sexual relationships among teenagers. They are also having social formats to provide comprehensive and balanced information about sexuality12. There are also facts that are related to the drug addictions. The inhibitions and the zeal of reducing drugs and alcohol encourage unintended sexual activity13. Leonard Sax points out that, girls often become intoxicated before engaging in sexual activities because it "numbs the experience for them, making it less embarrassing and less emotionally painful."14 The analytical studies have found that between 11% and 20% of pregnancies in teenagers is a direct result of rape, while about 60% of teenage mothers claimed their pregnancies were preceded by unwanted sexual experiences. The consequences vary, however teenagers below the age of 15, have been found of first intercourse experiences among females are reported to be non-voluntary. The research undertaken by the Guttmacher Institute found that 60% of girls who had sex before age 15 were coerced by males. These males are found to be of an average six years their senior. There are also incidences where one among five teenage fathers admitted of forcing their girls to have sex with them15. Many of the studies have indicated a strong link between early childhood sexual abuse and subsequent teenage pregnancy in industrialized countries. Among these the studies specify that upto 70% of women who gave birth in their teens were molested as little girls, in contrast to the average of 25% for women who did not16. V. CONCLUSION Thus to conclude the causes related to teenage pregnancy are all related to the social and individual bringing up of a child. There are also equal responsibility to be shared b the men’s society. The cases of molestation are common in all the countries. The insecurity of a girl is something that needs to be given more attention. The legal proceedings and judicial concerns can be a solution. However the factors related to the teenage pregnancy also demands to be checked by the family bonds. The idea of this paper is to bring a kind of awareness, especially among the youths for the adoption precautionary measures. The aim is also to make the society feel the risks for teenage pregnancy and the attempts will be made to make the homes, better and secured places for the teenage girls. This paper will be a small attempt towards making this issue a vital part of the social concern. The appeal is for strict legislative and judicial steps towards the prevention. It is an appeal to all those races of humanity that considers teenage pregnancy as a part of their culture. Getting married to people of older age is one of the factors towards molestation and this paper is to check out the secondary issues related to these circumstances. References Beginning Too Soon: Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Pregnancy And Parenthood, US Department of Health and Human Services, Retrieved on May 08, 2008. Indicator: Births per 1000 women (15-19 ys) – 2002 UNFPA, State of World Population 2003, Retrieved on May 08, 2008. Population Council (2006)Unexplored Elements of Adolescence in the Developing World Population Briefs, January 2006, Vol. 12, No. 1. Slater, Jon. (2000). "Britain: Sex Education Under Fire." The UNESCO Courier. Retrieved on May 08, 2008. Teenage mothers-domestic violence, gldvp.org.uk Retrieved on May 08, 2008. Teenage Mothers : Decisions and Outcomes - Provides a unique review of how teenage mothers think Policy Studies Institute, University of Westminster, 30 Oct 1998 The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (1997). What the Polling Data Tell Us: A Summary of Past Surveys on Teen Pregnancy. Retrieved on May 08, 2008. UNICEF. (2001). A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich NationsPDF (888 KiB). Retrieved on May 08, 2008 Read More