Sociology 101 paper introduction - Assignment Example

Your full November 10, Introduction- Teenage Pregnancy Teenage pregnancy is one of the most serious social problems of today’s modern society. The increase in the rate of unwed teenage births weakens the integrity of a country. Research suggests that millions of teenage girls get pregnant in the United States every year most of which are those who did not use any contraceptive. Gillham (10) states that whether one sees teenage pregnancy as a social problem is entirely one’s own perspective.

To some teenagers, getting pregnant would be a total disaster of their personalities if they want to step ahead in their professional lives; while, there are other teenagers who find themselves enjoying the situation. Generally, social inequalities, injustice and late modernity have added to the perception of teenage pregnancy as being problematic, and this has given rise to the need of resilient mothering practices that teenage mothers should employ to take care of their children (McDermott and Graham).

Working teenage mothers are compelled to mother in poor conditions along with experiencing social exclusion. Thus, they are left to utilize either the help from their families or their personal capabilities. They need to maintain kin relations and a strong mother-child dyad to gain the identity of a good mother. This makes young mother practices reflexive but controlled by social inequalities. Wilson and Huntington found that since the society has started considering teenage pregnancy as a problematic social problem, this perception has totally marginalized the lives of teenage mothers.C. Wright Mills would describe the topic as a serious public issue.

A problem becomes a social problem when some people of the community begin to get affected by it or start thinking about it as being an undesirable situation needing a solution. There are some social problems that are equally undesirable for all people of the community such as murders, robberies, bank fraud, rape, and the like; and, there are other problems that only certain group of people regard objectionable. However, to call a problem a social problem, there should be a collective unwelcoming to the problem from most of the community.

Teenage pregnancy is one such problem which has put the society into a dilemma of what to do with the mother and the unborn or born child, and how to treat with those involved. Hence, C. Wright Mills would most definitely view this problem as a public issue rather than a private one. This paper will look upon the matter using three sociological theories: Functionalist theory, Social Conflict theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. The functionalist theory will delve into how the issue relates to the society as a whole more than it affects an individual being.

This theory will link the issue of teenage pregnancy with public values, bringing out the pros and cons of the matter with respect to the bigger picture. The social conflict theory will explain how teenage pregnancy is an issue of conflict between parents and their pregnant teens, and what effect (positive or negative) this conflict has on the lives of the latter when they have to face the society alone. The symbolic interactionism will explain how people conceive the notion of teenage pregnancy based on their assumptions and ideas.

As the social conflict theory best explains teenage pregnancy since it views both sides of the picture, this paper will focus on this theory more than the other two described above. Works CitedGillham, Bill. The Facts about Teenage Pregnancies. London, Herndon, VA : Cassell, 1997. McDermott, Elizabeth, and Hilary Graham. “Resilient Young Mothering: Social Inequalities, Late Modernity and the Problem of Teenage Motherhood.” Journal of Youth Studies 8.1(2005): 59 – 79.Wilson, Helen, and Annette Huntington.

“Deviant (M)others: The Construction of Teenage Motherhood in Contemporary Discourse.” Journal of Social Policy, 35.1(2006): 59-76.