Teenage Pregnancy - Causes and Prevention

Paper Summary:

The paper shows that teenage childbearing crosses all socioeconomic, ethnic and racial backgrounds. The writer describes different projects that have been set up in order to prevent teenage pregnancies, showing which were successful and which failed. The writer explains that one of the primary causes of teenage pregnancy is low self-esteem. Young men and women see having a baby as an achievement, a statement of self-worth. In summation, the writer states that teen pregnancy is an epidemic in American society and that adolescents need to see that a baby is not an achievement, but rather a life long commitment. The writer suggests that any program that wants to succeed will need to implement life skills, decision making and critical thinking into its curriculum.

From the Paper:

"In studying the causes of teenage pregnancy, some trends are apparent. Students doing poorly in school are more inclined to use pregnancy as a measure of tangible self-worth. In addition, school dropouts have a high pregnancy rate. Most teenagers are well versed in sex education but do not have the critical thinking needed to see their choice as far reaching, nor do they have decision-making ability. This is a greater problem in black populations than in white ones. Teenagers are reluctant to use contraceptives for numerous reasons, resulting in unwanted pregnancies; some of these teens choose abortion as an alternate means of birth control. Teenagers with low educational and low vocational aspirations have a higher rate of pregnancy. Teens from single parent families have a high rate of pregnancy."

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