Teen Pregnancies

Paper Summary:

Compared to only a few decades ago, American society has become more open and accepting of teenage pregnancy. Pregnant teens are no longer hidden away with relatives. More importantly, many school and community groups have adopted honest and aggressive strategies to address the growing incidences of teenage pregnancy.
This paper evaluates the effectiveness of four different styles of programs in preventing pregnancy in teenage girls. These programs include sex education in schools, one-on-one conversations between patient and health care worker in a clinical setting, service learning programs, and finally, youth development programs. Emphasis is given on the effectiveness of these programs in preventing pregnancy in teenage African-American girls. The first part of this paper is an overview of teen pregnancy statistics, both throughout the United States and African-American teenagers in particular. The next part of the paper then identifies the factors behind the rising rates of pregnancy among black teenagers. In the third and main part, this paper looks at the diverse programs and policies that are being implemented to help stop teenage pregnancy. The paper then evaluates whether or not these programs address the unique factors that contribute to teen pregnancy in African-American teens. In the conclusion, this paper argues that pregnancy rates among black teens continue to rise because these programs do not address the special factors behind pregnancies in this group. Thus, in order to effectively address teen pregnancy in black teenagers, more policies must be enacted to address factors like poverty and school drop-out rates.

From the Paper:

"There is a wide diversity among the types of education programs. Advocates of abstinence-only education, for example, argue that contraception education has failed to stem the tide of pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease among high-school students. Napier (1999) argues that abstinence-only programs are the more effective solution. Programs such as the Washington, DC-based Best Friends, for example, match a teen girl with an adult mentor. Weekly one-on-one and group meetings will teach the girls self-respect and decision-making skills that will form the basis of a sexually-abstinent lifestyle. The Best Friends program also emphasizes avoiding drugs and alcohol, which are considered risk factors for early sexual activity."

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