Teen Pregnancy A Social Problem - Research Paper Example

Teen Pregnancy: A Social Problem This paper is primarily based on contemplating the issue of teenage pregnancy along with analyzing the effects produced by it on the society at large. It remains no doubt that teenage pregnancy most often is the direct result of prevailed delinquency and debauchery seen in the teenagers presently. This also is a firm reality that the sadly tragic issue of teenage pregnancy forms a hotly debated topic in the these times around the globe which is thriving with time and creating much grave troubles, thus shaking the solidarity of the societal structure in a ruthless and traumatic manner. Discussing how teenage pregnancy forms a grave social problem in the society in addition to presenting an idea about how a simple civil service employee assesses this problem and discussing the possible solutions to this mighty grave issue form the bulk of this paper. It is very important to analyze how the issue of teenage pregnancy impacts a community in myriad grave ways which might get too complicated if the whole issue is not understood appropriately. This is because more often than not getting pregnant during teenage propels many young girls towards poverty and societal alienation. Then they are also highly unlikely to set example of a good role model as a parent for their children in general terms. Research reports continuously point out that child abuse, neglect, and poor parenting are important negative outcomes of teenage pregnancy and are shown towards children born to teenage mothers, thus forming a grave consequential problem produced by teenage pregnancy (Britner & Reppucci, 1997, p. 165). The impact produced on the community in the long term as a consequence of teenage pregnancy is such that children born to teenage mothers are highly likely to develop criminal tendencies as adults later on. This is understandable as they do not get any proper supervision they otherwise might get in the form of a proper parenting style which consists of two parents involved in a committed relationship. It is a heartbreaking reality that the incidence of teenage pregnancy is twice in America than in any other industrialized nation around the world which presents a scenario that is definitely increasingly serious and attention-demanding. This horrendous reality about how the incidence of teenage pregnancy is double in USA highlights the profound need to raise awareness about the sexual caution measures which the teenage girls should be familiar with in an order to avoid the risk of pregnancy. In fact, raising more and more awareness about teenage pregnancy issue among girls at schools can prove to be an effective measure if implemented seriously. Such students should be invited by teachers to share their problems and be open about them instead of shying away in quiet corners and getting secretive if found involved in any such problem. It is the duty of the teachers then to seek any problems they might feel could sabotage the classroom environment. According to a national survey-based information for the United States, “78% of all pregnancies and 66% of all births to adolescents in the early 1990s were unintended” (Henshaw, 1998, p. 24). Acknowledging the views and opinions of civil service employees about any social scenario always turns out to be quite a valuable measure. According to Mr. Smith, the science teacher at a local high school, it is a very sad reality that promiscuous behavior and alcohol use among teenage girls in USA has increased over time. This might be due to the efforts made to glamorize sex and drug abuse in the movies and television dramas these days. “Teens who drink and smoke are more likely to hang out with other teens who are seen as ‘sexually advanced’ and are more likely to have sex themselves” (Smith, 2001, p. 1). It was also opinioned that teenage girls after getting pregnant are reduced to stress and poverty as they certainly more often than not cannot depend on their male partners for financial support. It is understandable as Beilfuss interestingly commented that “when it's tough for the parents to find jobs, it's even tougher for them to put diapers on bottoms and food in mouths” (Beilfuss, cited in Doyle, 2011, p. 15). Mr. Smith also commented that High school dropouts are highly common in teenage pregnant girls owing to the uncomfortable environment offered to them at the educational setups by both the teachers and students. It is obvious that high school dropouts have nearly zero possibility of employment and while they can also not rely on their male partners more than often for financial support, stress while being pregnant mounts for teenage girls. Also, teenage pregnant girls are highly likely to get themselves associated with high alcohol consumption and substance abuse as a way of coping with emotional turbulence. Research suggests that children whose mothers consumed alcohol very often during the first trimester have a three fold increased risk of developing aggressive and defiant behavior leading to even developing criminal tendency in later years (HealthDay, 2011, p. 1). Therefore, it is very necessary that in addition to making teen mothers confident that they can be as good a parent as an older mother, much financial and educational support should be provided to teen mothers because such a strategy could save such ill-fated young women from living a life of poverty and anguish (Brennan-Tupara, 2011, p. 5). Summing up, this much becomes clear from the above discussion that one change or solution that might prove to be effective would be granting proper and officially approved rights to the teenage mothers since that can change the dramatic situation brought on by this issue. But all said, this still remains a debate much worked on by many scholars and sociologists. Teenage girls are certainly less mature and sensible to take care of their children in an appropriate way as they happen to be quite raw in those years and which is also one of the reasons why reducing teenage pregnancy is highly important. How can children born to such girls, who themselves happen to be so impractical and insensible, be expected to grow up into responsible citizens who are emotionally intact and whole? Certainly this presents a very worrisome situation and should be tackled earlier on when problem is not that gruesome. References: Brennan-Tupara, N. (2011). Teens can be as good a parent as an older mother. Waikato Times, 5. Britner, P. A. & Reppucci, D. N. (1997). Prevention of Child Maltreatment: Evaluation of a Parent Education Program for Teen Mothers. JOURNAL OF CHILD AND FAMILY STUDIES, 6(2), 165-175. Doyle, B. (2011). Teen moms get help with parenting :Classes, resources offered by agency. Chicago Tribune, 15. HealthDay. (2011). Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Linked to Behavior Problems in Teens U.S. News & World Report, 1. Henshaw, S. K. (1998). Unintended pregnancy in the United States. Family Planning Perspectives, 30(1), 24-29. Smith, P. (2001). Substance Abuse and Teen Pregnancy. 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