Teenage Pregnancy: What is the main Causative Factor - Essay Example

You're 30 June 2006 Teenage Pregnancy: What is the main Causative Factor Prospectus on Teen Pregnancy Introduction to ResearchIn the past decade teen pregnancy has risen as one of the most astounding complications within teenage life. Becoming pregnant at 13 or 15 impacts the lives of teenagers in a way that research has defined even promotes clinical issues such as depression, anxiety, fear, worry, and even isolation. This is not something that society should want to see continue occurring to the young women and even the men of tomorrow.

Thesis:Although sex education has been a good philosophy to implement into the public middle school and high school environment, in actuality it has not limited or minimized the occurrence rate of teenage pregnancy significantly at all. Hypothesis:Before the problem of teen pregnancy is attacked, it is important for both teens and adults to have a better understanding of exactly what the issues are, and to acknowledge the extreme differences between the lies and the facts.Sources for the Research:The sources that will be utilized as primary ones are scholarly and academic journals from online University Access.

These will be journals such as: Blackwell & Synergy, Pubmed, Jstor, and others. As secondary sources relevant internet web sites will be utilized and online accessible .pdf files will be incorporated as well. Also there are a good number of family magazines that carry articles on this topic which will be put to good usage as essential elements to back up the relevant statements needing validity in the research.Research Body A common misconception about the prevention of teen pregnancy is that the increase of contraception availability will result in an increase of pregnancies.

Most adults seem to think that if schools were to begin dispensing birth control products, it would make teenagers more likely to engage in sexual activities. This ties in very closely with the ever-growing debate of legal abortions. Many believe that when abortions are legalized people (particularly teenagers) will begin taking advantage of the increased availability of abortions, and begin using them as a form of birth control. However, many studies have shown that when abortions become more available, the abortion rate does not necessarily increase.

In 1973, during the Roe v. Wade trial, the Supreme Court granted limited abortion rights to minors. In many states girls were required to have parental consent before the procedure. This created many problems because for a lot of the girls, obtaining permission from their parents was as likely as winning the lottery. This ruling led to illegal abortions, an increase in the teenage birth rate, and it created a severe controversy that is still a cause of debate today. However, for many girls abortion is not even an option.

Often abortions go against a girl's religious or personal beliefs, or they do not feel they have the means to pay for an abortion. In these cases, a girl who does not want her baby will give it up for adoption. Although this appears to be a logical choice for a pregnant teen to make, it is one that comes with much suffering and heartache. The hardest part for many of the girls is the separation anxiety they feel once their baby has left. While certain adoption agencies offer girls the chance to keep in contact with their babies, many girls know that they will probably never see their children again.

For some girls, the only option is to keep and raise their babies. This is definitely the hardest decision a pregnant teenager can make. Whether the girl is still living at home with her parents, or is on her own, caring for her baby will immediately become a stressful and costly full time job. Sadly, only five percent of teen moms receive any money from the fathers of their children. This means that many of the girls are forced to get jobs to support themselves and their babies, and many wind up on welfare or some form of government assistance.

"Teenage pregnancy contributes to higher welfare and health care costs" (Research you can use). It also becomes increasingly hard for the girls to balance this new lifestyle with their old one, and the majority of teenage mothers wind up dropping out of school. Without a high school degree, it is difficult for these mothers to get a well paying job, and many are forced to work tough, minimum wage jobs in order to pay for such things as diapers, baby food and clothing, as well as rent and bills if need be.

This leads to more over all strain on the society. Teen pregnancy is not just an issue that the community must focus on young woman, but also on the fathers of these babies. There are many teen fathers who deny responsibility for their children and even refuse to pay child support to the mothers of their babies. It seems most logical that the fathers of babies born to teenage girls would be teenage boys, but in reality adult men father at least half of the babies born to teen girls. In fact, twenty percent of these fathers are more than six years older then the mothers.

This creates legal problems, as well as moral and emotional dilemmas. Many pregnancy prevention programs have began narrowing in on teen boys or fathers, and trying to make them more aware of their roles, as far as birth control and responsibility for the pregnancy. By targeting males, many believe that the rate of teen pregnancy will drop considerably. Those involved with the prevention of teenage pregnancy are optimistic that with the talk of teenage pregnancy there will come a decrease in the pregnancy rates among teenagers.

This is a battle being fought not only by teenage parents, but also by society as a whole. It is important that all children are educated thoroughly enough about teen pregnancy and can therefore make proper decisions regarding this issue. With the growing concern for teenage mothers and their babies, you would think that people would finally begin to take note of the problem and do what they can, in their own way, to further prevent pregnancies among teenagers, but that is not happening. Schools insist on implementing abstinence programs that are not working.

"California still has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancies in the nation"(Research you can use). My plan to combat and curve the issue of teenage pregnancy is to begin sexual education at an earlier age than most adults would be "comfortable" with. Often abstinence is only advocated in middle schools because adults are not prepared to explain the physical aspects of sexual education. "In institutions that accept government money, teachers must advocate abstinence until marriage as the only certain way to prevent unplanned pregnancies" (Research you can use).

"President Bush is asking for $273 million for fiscal 2005 to advocate abstinence rather than contraception" (Further useful Research). This is all well and good, but what they do not know is that children have a concept of what sex is, and are curious about it, but do not fully understand the consequences. Sexual education should be taught in every middle school to make the children aware. Contraception is the second way to prevent teen pregnancy. Condoms and birth control should be available at the next level of schooling.

Most teens begin sexual activity in high school. If contraception was available in the school in such a way that it could be anonymously taken, it would more than likely drastically change the way a young couple partake in sexual activity. Contraception is not readily available to teens and is therefore not used. Condoms, and birth control cost money that teens just do not have. To conclude the goals of this research prospectus, teenage pregnancy is a problem that has plagued our society for quite some time and the only way to really change it is with the reality and truth of the problem, not the misconceptions or ideas that are meant to cover it up and keep it concealed.

In continuing this research at a later date it will be possible to prove there are far better ways to minimize the problems of teen pregnancy far better than what are in existence currently.