Teen Pregnancy: Explicating the Contemporary Culture - Research Paper Example

23 February Teen Pregnancy: Explicating the Contemporary Culture Proposal In the current of affairs it has come to notice that a large number of problems are originating in our society. Amongst these gigantic issues is the extremely important subject of teen pregnancy. Hence, if we need to diversify this fast paced chaos it is necessary for us to target the major issue under deliberation and understand what role our social system actually plays in making or impacting this issue. It is such a problem which is being formulated amid the females under the age of 20. This problem depends upon a number of factors which are both societal and personal. The principles that underline the seriousness of this problem include blocks like sexual activity, universal sex education, and the availability of contraceptive options. The prime and the most pondered upon issue which is being spread like fire all around the researches in contemporary literature is teen pregnancy which is why I will provide a basis of this issue with reference to its illustration through modern art. Different beliefs are held by different people; similarly various researches show various results. Hence, for the clarification of the causes and measures for the solution of this issue, all sides have been provided and presented objectively for the formulation of the readers own opinion. As the viewpoints provided are completely valid and applicable, thus this paper provides a study reference for the elimination or decrease in the problem of teen pregnancy from the society and improving the public health sector. Annotated Bibliography Allen, Joseph P., Philliber, Susan, Herrling, Scott and Kuperminc, Gabriel P. “Preventing teen Pregnancy and Academic Failure: Experimental Evaluation of a Developmentally Based Approach” Child Development 68.4 (2006): 729–742. Print. The psychological reference of this work to various social and personal issues of public health is known well. The entire article puts forth the importance of social development in high school students and the scholars suggest that both teachers and parents are well aware of the practice. This article also points out the difficulty that students and teachers face in trying to implement the broad developmental tasks. Hoffman, Saul D. Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs & Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy. Washington: The Urban Institute Press, 2008. Print. According to the approach and estimates provided on page 290 of this book, it has been elucidated that the increase in the early pregnancy is among the two most troubling trends in our society. It is suggested that there is a link between the process of childbearing of the mother and that of their daughters. As compared to the above study, this book suggests various ways of overcoming the problems that are faced during the implementation of regulations to avoid teen pregnancy. Lau, May and Flores, Glenn. “Everything is Bigger in Texas, Including the Latino Adolescent Pregnancy Rate: How Do We Eliminate the Epidemic of Latino Teen Pregnancy?” Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk 1.1 (2010): 1-4. The TMC Library. PDF file. The Journal of Applied Research on Children is an online journal which formulates for the issues regarding children through a holistic prism. This source supports my other sources by illustrating the ease of eliminating this problem by implementing measures that can control this problem and links it to the economical and educational success of both women and the country. Mollborn, Stefanie, Domingue, Benjamin W. and Boardman, Jason D. “Racial, Socioeconomic, and Religious Influences on School-Level Teen Pregnancy Norms and Behaviors.” IBS (2011). Institute of Behavioral Science, PDF file. The author examines the results of a study of school-based design of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. This has been done in order to analyze the normative changes regarding teen pregnancy across high schools in the United States. These findings seem to contradict many of my other sources which suggest that sex education and prevention measures play an important role in its increase rather than those of race or religion sectors. Sayegh, M. Aaron, Castrucci, Brian C., Lewis, Kayan and Lopez, Angela H. “Teen Pregnancy in Texas: 2005 to 2015” Maternal and Child Health Journal 14.1 (2008): 94-101. Print. This article from Maternal and Child Health Journal offers statistics on the utilization of the birth records and population projections for the stimulation of pregnancy among women whose ages were 15–19 years. The data obtained is rated from 2005 to 2015. It has been evaluated by the authors that a large number of organizations are working towards bringing a decrease in this problem. Final Draft The World Health Organization (2006) has correctly defined health as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (15). The public health sector has played an extremely vital role in the improvement of health status by adopting the quality improvement (QI) to improve performance and products, but some hurdles yet remain to be crossed. These hurdles are basically the issues that arise time after time with more potency and they influence the society in a more effective manner. Amongst these problems lie issues like drug abuse, alcohol, obesity, violence prevention and last but not the least teen pregnancy. This problem reached an unsurpassed high in the 1990’s and then the rate of the issue of teen pregnancy which is also known as adolescent pregnancy dropped. But it has been noticed that with the passage of time, even though medical awareness and development has lead to a decrease in this problem, yet the illiterate population remains a victim of this problem. The age group which is the target of this problem usually begins from 13 and moves up to 19 years. This problem is considered as a serious one mainly due to the risk factors it carries for adolescents in their pregnancy. These problems are mostly related to younger ages, poor school performances of teens, economic disadvantage of the issue, older male partners associated with the teens, and problematic future aspects like single or teen parents. In accordance to the work presented by Ball and Goodson; it has been evaluated that teen pregnancy is such a problem that wraps around itself the political, social, economic, and educational aspect of a community (137). The situation that surrounds the subject under consideration is the commonness of this problem and its impact on the society. It has been found out that 85% of teenage pregnancies are unplanned which has now started to create problems such as an increase in any population and personal issues, like the delay in prenatal care or worse. Along with the issues that are structured by this problem, there are wide reasons and causes that have been underlined for this issue and need to be solved. These include causes like the lack of prenatal care, delay in testing, denial by parents, and situations like fear of telling others about the pregnancy. Duffy and Wong are of the view that the social welfare system is to be held responsible for the development of such issues. (138), but time after time the issue has been proven insoluble. It has been proven that measures can lead towards the solution of this problem; only firm regulation and implementation appraisals need to be made. Therefore, this paper puts forth the theories that have been proposed to uphold the idea of betterment with reference to this issue as well as the literature that supports the evaluations. It has been evaluated by a large number of studies that the environment plays an essential role in making or breaking an individual; similarly when an individual becomes a victim of teenage pregnancy it is the environment that is responsible for making things better or worse for one. Most of the time when teens become a target of this issue, they are crumbled under pressures of the environment. Thus, in my perspective it can be elucidated that the theory that runs around this issue is that adolescents when targeted by the issue of early pregnancy need to be handled properly, along with which it is the society which shall be held responsible for this issue. This is due to the fact that the society shall either play a vigilant role in making sure that it creates enough awareness that this problem is averted, or it shall deal with the problem in the manner it is supposed to. In accordance to the link provided by the current representation of this issue in the form of performing arts and teen pregnancy, the movie ‘Juno’ can be referred to. It can be evaluated that ‘Juno’ is a movie in which a 16 year old school girl gets pregnant and carries the child of his best friend as she decides to give birth to the baby and give it up for adoption. Thus, this movie is though a good representation of almost half of the tribulations that a teenage pregnant girl has to go through, yet some aspects of the reality have been missed. As far as the pick is concerned, this movie is not considered a good one for the children which in my perspective is not accurate. It is due to the fact that unawareness has spread so much that conservativeness of the parents leads the children towards making mistakes that lead them towards a troublesome future. Lau and Flores believe that females of 15-19 years are expected to find an increase of 127 per 1000 by 2015 in teen pregnancy (1). They have verified that the problem of lack of education amongst children leads to this issue and believes that it castes a great impact on the economic institutions of a society. As per many studies such as that presented by Hoffman it has been evaluated that religion and race are important factors of determining the uprising of this issue amongst teenagers (235). Whereas, in accordance to Mollborn, Domingue and Boardman the major factor that determines the cause of this issue is that of sex education and prevention measures (8). Thus, if these three studies are evaluated it can be seen that just like the representation of the movie Juno, it has been pointed out that the most important factor that determines the stance of the issue is awareness and planning. A teenage pregnant girl has to go through a large number of problems which are caused mostly by the inappropriateness of the social welfare system, as stated by Hoffman. Studies conducted by Castrucci, Sayegh, Lewis and Lopez have also directed the learners towards the fact that the issue of teen pregnancy is nowhere near to a decline unless awareness regarding this problem is spread and failures in procedures for precautions are overcome (n.pg). Thus, this also refers to the common idea that has been shared in the study and is elucidated to be that educational development is necessary for overcoming this problem for both children as well as parents (735). Therefore, after a collective evaluation of the above provided studies it can be expounded that there is a need in our society and especially in the public health sector to promote awareness in this context and to work on measures like elimination of peer pressure, creation of the ability to say no, teaching the right methods of protection, introducing sex education and contraception, and provision of support programs for people who are already a target of this issue. Therefore, it can be concluded that after the above verified evidence and case studies the importance of the problem and the methods to eliminate and rotate about the ways a society deals with it and how it lets an individual deal with it. Medical outcomes, the impact on the child, impact on other family members, and long term consequences are the major factors that come out as a result of analysis for an individual to consider before getting oneself in trouble. Thus, through the measures provided above in this paper, this issue can be reduced to an extent and the state of the public health sector can be improved enormously. Works Cited Allen, Joseph P., Philliber, Susan, Herrling, Scott and Kuperminc, Gabriel P. “Preventing teen Pregnancy and Academic Failure: Experimental Evaluation of a Developmentally Based Approach” Child Development 68.4 (2006): 729–742. Print. Ball, Stephen J. and Goodson, Ivor (ed). Education, Globalization and New Times. Abingdon: Routledge, 2007. Print. Beaglehole, R., Kjellström, Tord and World Health Organization. Basic epidemiology. India: World Health Organization, 2006. Print. Duffy, Karen G. and Wong, Frank Y. Community Psychology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2000. Print. Hoffman, Saul D. Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs & Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy. Washington: The Urban Institute Press, 2008. Print. Lau, May and Flores, Glenn. “Everything is Bigger in Texas, Including the Latino Adolescent Pregnancy Rate: How Do We Eliminate the Epidemic of Latino Teen Pregnancy?” Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk 1.1 (2010): 1-4. The TMC Library. PDF file. Mollborn, Stefanie, Domingue, Benjamin W. and Boardman, Jason D. “Racial, Socioeconomic, and Religious Influences on School-Level Teen Pregnancy Norms and Behaviors.” IBS (2011). Institute of Behavioral Science. PDF file. Sayegh, M. Aaron, Castrucci, Brian C., Lewis, Kayan and Lopez, Angela H. “Teen Pregnancy in Texas: 2005 to 2015” Maternal and Child Health Journal 14.1 (2008): 94-101. Print. Read More