Teen Issues and Peer Pressure - Research Paper Example

Discussion Different factors can be attributed to the increasing numbers of early pregnancy. The first common factors include the lack of knowledge on sex and the methods of pregnancy prevention that are available to sexually active people. The second factor is the barriers imposed in the way of accessing pregnancy education and contraceptives, which could be attributed to the negative attitudes developed around the subject, among health professionals (Davies et al., 2006). The third factor leading to an increase in the number of teenage pregnancies is peer pressure.

This factor can be attributed to the company that the victims of teenage pregnancy keep, which exposes them to teenage sexual encounters. In many cases, peer pressure will be exerted by age mates or the close encounters of the teenager. In other cases, the pressure can come from community members of other ages and age groups (Ritcher & Mlambo, 2001). Self esteem is another factor leading to an increase in the number of teenage pregnancies. This factor can be attributed to the personal need of the teenagers to feel a sense of belonging, whether among their age group, or in other social circles.

In the case that the teenager experiences a lack of belonging, it is possible that they will associate to people that expose them to unprotected sex, mainly because the company gives them a sense of belonging and identification. Low education expectations are also likely to propel teenagers, towards questionable social groups, which increase their exposure to unprotected sex (Ritcher & Mlambo, 2001). This case takes place, especially among the teenagers that do not identify their future in a field related to the attainment of education.

For example, teenage girls that perform poorly at school are more likely to fall victims of teenage sex, therefore ending up pregnant. Poverty is a factor contributing to teenage pregnancies, mainly because teenage girls from poor families and societies are exposed to adult life earlier than their counterparts. For example, child labor is a common phenomenon among the teenagers from poor families, and that exposes them to employers and encounters that may exploit them sexually (Mestad et al., 2011).

Family breakdown is another factor leading to an increase in the number of teenage pregnancies. Family breakdown increases the possibility of teenage pregnancy among teenagers, mainly because it, often, leads to the divorce of parents; in other cases, it leads to family wrangles. The instability of the family pushes the teenagers – who are likely to seek love and attention from other social spheres – to seek love and attention from peers as well as other social encounters, who will often recruit them into sexual activities (Davies et al., 2006). In the 21st century society, sex-based messages are common across different media.

This is another factor leading to an increase in the number of teenage pregnancies. Some of the common media that expose teenagers to sexual-based information are the Internet, the television and publications, which give them information of sexual nature, and then they engage in sexual experimentation. The factors leading to teenage pregnancies are not similar, among the teenagers of developing and the developed world (Mestad et al., 2011). For example, teenage pregnancies at developing countries are more likely to