Teen Mothers - Research Paper Example

Teen Mothers Teen Mothers Teenage pregnancy has often been associated with a wayward teen or lack of discipline in a child. Interestingly, only the girl who gets pregnant is a source of focus for many while the boy or man responsible for the pregnancy remains hidden from criticism. Young mothers have been labeled as “unfit” and a “burden” to their parents and to those around them. Motherhood at a tender age has also been associated with poor health problems for both the mother and her newborn. But looking at all these closely, one will find that there is a more positive end to the ‘social problem’ than has been perceived by so many people. Introduction Teenage pregnancy is known to be a deviant rather than a norm. It is more of a personal disaster and a social problem in the society. Many young women have fallen victims of becoming mothers at a very tender age, mostly around 15-17 years, considered by many people as ‘underage’. Having a child when one is below age 20 has been said to be ‘a child having a child.’ However, many of these young girls have managed to raise their children with the help of their families and develop less problems in the society. The biggest burden is because they have to struggle in the up keep of the child. Apart from the economical aspect they are doing very well in the society. Some sociologists like Earl and Weinberg, (1998) describe it in two different perspectives: 1) deviance as being an objective reality based on the notion that other people see it in terms of the importance of norms and values existing at the structural level of their society; and 2) deviance also being a subjective experience. This perspective is based on three assumptions: 1) That there is a wide agreement on what proper norms are and therefore, elements at fault are easily recognized; 2) A deviance mostly creates negative repercussions towards the victims and their roles in the act; and 3) The repercussions confirm to the structure that they are recognized under uniform values and norms.” (Rubington & Weinberg,1968). When young girls become pregnant, they are criticized and denounced by the public and this causes stigmatization in them. Policy makers are using this to try and source funds in the assumption that they will get rid of the “vice.” The labels “social burden” or “socially unfit” have been strongly used to bring out this social deviance and worse, it is mostly associated with the low-income citizens e.g. the Blacks and Latina girls in America (Jimenez, 2012). Not many people look at the real causes of teenage pregnancy, they instead focus on the consequential elements. Fertility behaviors in young women are different and it is hard to know how one takes responsibility for her own choices of becoming a mother and more so, at what age. “Social norms about teenage pregnancy may well be a cause of variation in teenagers’ fertility behaviors, but these norms are notoriously difficult to measure” (Jimenez, 2012). Some clinics have come up where basic services are provided to teen mothers, but they are required to present themselves to the agencies and to be registered as “dependent” in order for them to receive benefits. This leads to only a handful of them being reached by the services at the end of the day the agency operates, because they have already been labeled and stigmatized. The deviants still find themselves needy and powerless even though the system seems to want to reduce their label to a “dependant” rather than a “deviant” (Mollborn, 2009). Previous studies have come up with theories that try to define this social ‘norm’. One theory, the Attachment theory, applied to romantic relationships offers one possibility. Attachment theory has motivated a wide and rapid growing research bodies about attachment styles, including romantic and sexual relationships in adolescents and adults. The connection between attachments and adolescent pregnancy has however been less explored (Figueiredo et. el. 2006). Both views bring out the fact that people are busy looking at teenage pregnancy failing to take into account the root cause of the deviance i.e. the sexual relationships between partners. Contrary to the conventional belief that early childbearing or teenage mothers experience danger, many of these young mothers have never experienced the adverse effects that are mostly associated with early childbearing. Most of them are healthy and strong and more so, have a stronger resilience to building stronger bodies after child birth. Some governments have offered subsidies through welfares but these young women mostly benefit from familial links and close networks. The networks assist the young mothers in creating stability in their parental roles (Mollborn, 2009). The need to become a young mother needs not to be seen as a death row; instead, it can be beneficial in the structure of poverty and may be defined as a rational decision based on the social structure. If we are to understand the actual trends in early child bearing we need to find out if the system has provided the community with ways of reinforcing this behavior and to socially construct young people to make decisions based on information rather than ignorance (Mollborn, 2009). Studies have showed that early motherhood can have a positive impact on the lives of young mothers and for those around them. Most young mothers who had initially had bad relationships with their parents and siblings, showed a reinforced union when new children were welcomed into the family (SEU, 1999). The birth of a child transformed them and the entire family dynamics, consequently healing breaches. Birth of children from young mothers experiencing any form of adversity showed a complete positive response in their lives by the state of motherhood. This shows that there is a direct response to nature through motherhood at any given age but the ‘resolution’ angle is much less acknowledged. Instead, teenage motherhood is always depicted as having negative consequences, and is usually portrayed as an event that tears families apart and hastens personal and social deterioration (SEU, 1999). Mothers have shown that young women and their babies are beneficial in the society because this helps to repair family links and have even brought separated family members back together. This happens mostly in cases where young women had been through moments of adversity in early life. Popular descriptions have said that these mothers are young and they are unaided. In the study done, young mothers were well supported and their parenting was surprisingly accepted by their families (Figueiredo et. el. 2006). The initial reaction to a girl being pregnant may have seemed difficult to understand to any mother, but in reality they turn out to support and care for their daughters and the new members of the family. These young women would later go back to work and even proceed with their education with the great assistance from their families. Interestingly, the loneliest and least well-supported mothers are middle class, married women geographically distant from their families (Rubington & Weinberg, 1968). These young women may be seen as struggling to work, and there is little hope for them to find decently paid jobs and work satisfaction. Some women have reported hostility toward them from neighbors and friends. However, with the support from their families these women cope very well with the transition to parenthood and are keen to point out the benefits of early motherhood, especially to those strangers who judged them (Figueredo et. el. 2006). This deviance, teenage pregnancy does not neutralize stigma but discourages it in essence, when families stand firm to support their children and develop a more courageous and positive attitude toward their social standing. They feel that it was not bad after all and life must continue. More important, if the girl is provided with all the amenities then she will create a comfortable beginning for the new born child and will not feel isolated (Rubington & Weinberg, 1968). Teenage mothers are indeed aware that they are not regarded well in the society or treated the way they would wish by those around them. There is evidence that the stigma that they experience as young mothers is so strong that they see it as a slow ‘social death’ (Whitehead, 2001). It has been realized that there is a strong relationship between teenage motherhood and social exclusion (Arai, 2009). The young mother – welfare dependent, geographically immobile, poorly educated and with apparently limited vision – is the antithesis of this agenda. In modern, advanced, highly skilled and fast-changing industrial societies, the worst thing to be is a residuum of any kind. In this kind of economic setting, early parenthood is represented as an archaic and chronically self-limiting behavior (Whitehead, 2001). Out of wedlock births are becoming more common and accepted universally. In Europe the proportion of babies born out of wedlock has doubled and tripled over the years. European welfare states support single mothers, and this may be seen as the major reason why most young women do not mind having babies at an early age, be it to get the welfare status or not, they do not feel so stigmatized as before. To say that parenthood among teenagers is “socially constructed”, there must be causes and reasons for the fact that at recent times most women are not only postponing childbearing but marriage all together (Rubington & Weinberg, 1968). Reproductive rights play a major role in advocating for the choices of early motherhood. Socioeconomic circumstances provide good insights to the particular trends in child bearing of any given group. Teen mothers may be “rational” players in the fact that child bearing does not elaborately change or limit their economic or educational opportunities. Teen pregnancy is therefore not necessarily a result of social “deviance”, it is rather an “adaptive” thing to the surrounding structural differences of socioeconomic inequalities (Rubington & Weinberg, 1968). Frank Furstenburg’s (2000) longitudinal study of teen mothers in Baltimore showed that after thirty years, adolescent mothers found themselves in similar economic and social circumstances as many of their peers who had put off childbearing till later stages in life. In fact, the ones who gave birth earlier show a stronger resilience and ability to cope with hardships and fair slightly better than their counter parts. In the same way, those teenagers must be understood as “rational” actors in a background of limited opportunities. Teen pregnancy must be seen not as a problem itself, but as a deliverable of growing socioeconomic inequality. With this understanding, we will then be able to perform and create policies that prevent teen pregnancy by first addressing the root level and structures that broadly limit the life opportunities of low-income teenagers and parents (Mollborn, 2009). Conclusion I consider that teen pregnancy can be better addressed, and the lives of low-income girls can be improved. Even as policy and prevention programs may attempt to reduce the rates of early childbearing and provide some low-income teens with economic and educational opportunity, teen pregnancy prevention cannot be the strategy to alleviate poverty at large. Teen pregnancy should not be viewed as a problem in and of itself, but as a marker of persisting socioeconomic inequality (Furstenberg, 2000). In addressing teen pregnancy, we must first acknowledge the state’s role in maintaining the systematic educational and economic disadvantage that low-income groups face. Only then can we work towards policy that aims to not only reduce teen pregnancy, but alleviate poverty and structural inequality, and thus meaningfully improve the lives of America’s low income (Furstenberg, 2000). References Arai, L. (2009) What a difference a decade makes: Rethinking teenage pregnancy as a problem, Social Policy and Society, 8 (2), pp.171-183. Figueiredo, B., Bifulco, A., Pacheco, A., Costa, R., & Magarinho, R. (2006). Teenage pregnancy, attachment style, and depression: a comparison of teenage and adult pregnant women in a Portuguese series. Attachment & Human Development, 8(2), 123-138. Furstenberg, F. F. (2000), The Sociology of Adolescence and Youth in the 1990s: A Critical Commentary. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62: 896–910. Jimenez, Stephanie, (2012) "Social Constructions of Teen Pregnancy: Implications for Policy and Prevention Efforts" (2012). Scripps Senior Theses. Paper 50. Mollborn, S. (2009). Norms about nonmarital pregnancy and willingness to provide resources to unwed parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(1), 122-134. Rubington, E., & Weinberg, M. S. (1968). Deviance. Macmillan. SEU (Social Exclusion Unit) (1999), Teenage Pregnancy, London: HMSO. Whitehead, B. D. (2001). What’s God got to do with teen pregnancy prevention. Keeping the faith: The role of religion and faith communities in preventing teen pregnancy, 09-30. Read More