Outline

TEENAGE PREGNANCY 1

TEENAGE PREGNANCY 5

Liberty University

HSCO 500

Introduction to Human Services Counseling

Author: Shawnreco Washington

Date: October 15, 2016

Introduction

Teen pregnancy is a term used to refer to girls who become pregnant before reaching the legal age of adulthood. These pregnancies are usually unplanned since many of them ignore the fact that pregnancy can occur once a girl starts ovulating from as early as thirteen years old. Teen pregnancy often encounters health issues to both the mother and child if proper prenatal care is not adhered to. Apart from health issues, there are other factors which affect pregnant teen mothers such as socioeconomic and psychological impacts to the mother and her family. Teen pregnancy, therefore, has to be addressed so as to minimize the rates of school dropouts due to pregnancy.

Causes of Teenage Pregnancy

Sexual abuse in the form of rape is one of the leading causes of teenage pregnancy. Teenage girls can undergo this ordeal when they are manipulated or forced by adult males or even boys their age to have sex against their will. Many rape cases have led to pregnancies and even fatal instances among teenage girls.

Lack of proper parental advice is also a cause of this social problem. Some parents are often held up by their work and avoid advising their teenage children about sex. Parents are responsible for molding their children in the right path, and this includes talking to them about sexual intercourse. When this issue is neglected, teenage children may not find it too wrong to experiment on having sex. Misinformed teens can often take part in sex and therefore can lead to teenage pregnancies.

Peer pressure is one of the leading causes of many social issues in the society. Teenagers often try to impress their friends so as to make them feel that they fit into the group. Sex for teens may be considered to be the perfect way to fit into a group of friends (Kearney & Levine, 2015). This may in turn influence many individuals to take part in sexual intercourse so as to impress the friends. When friends influence others decisions, they do that without taking consideration of the possible consequences of having sex such as unplanned pregnancies. Peer pressure propels this social problem since many teenagers do not want to ridicule by their peers if they fail to live up to their expectations.

Poverty can be a cause of this social dilemma. Teenage girls who come from poor backgrounds do not often have the opportunity to have a proper education. Education is necessary for developing teens since they can be educated about their sexuality and impacts of having unprotected sex. When teens are deprived of this opportunity, they lack the proper knowledge about sex and are likely to have unintended pregnancies. Poverty not only limits teens from having a good education but also can be forced to early marriages. Girls may be compelled off to early marriages by their parents so as to help them find means to survive poverty. Early marriages subject young girls to the prospect of teenage pregnancy.

Drug and substance abuse is another cause of early pregnancy. Teenagers who are not adequately restricted from taking alcohol and other substances can lower their impulses for self-control and may end up having unprotected sex. Proper restrictions have to be imposed so as to prevent teenagers from being under the influence. Parents have also to advise their children so as to ensure that they are disciplined and can control their sexual urges during adolescence.

Psychological factors can also bring about teenage pregnancies. Teenagers undergoing adolescence need adequate attention from their family so as to provide them with the needed emotional support (Hillis, Anda, Dube, Felitti & Marks, 2016). When there is a lack of the relationship ties, teenagers will divert to where they would find the love they desire.

Reference

Hillis, S. D., Anda, R. F., Dube, S. R., Felitti, V. J., Marchbanks, P. A., Macaluso, M., & Marks, J. S. (2016). The protective effect of family strengths in childhood against adolescent pregnancy and its long-term psychosocial consequences. Issues.

Kearney, M. S., & Levine, P. B. (2015). Media influences on social outcomes: the impact of MTV's 16 and pregnant on teen childbearing. The American Economic Review, 105(12), 3597-3632.