Teen Pregnancy - Tripod

							                 Regina Belenkaya
Teen Pregnancy   Allison Morrison




                             Nursing 280
                             Summer 2006
          Introduction


Teen pregnancy affects the mother,
  child and society as a whole.

 In the US, this problem causes a
    significant financial burden and
     emotional distress to society,
and is also more pronounced than
  in other industrialized countries.
     Major Worries of Adolescents


o Definition of sex roles

o Development of positive body image

o Forming relationships with opposite sex

o Striving to achieve autonomy
 Incidence of Teen Pregnancy (US)


o 1,000,000 per year

o 50% will result in live births

o Teen pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates

  are the highest of all industrialized countries
  (possibly related to high poverty rates)
  Teen Birth Trends (Ages 15-17)



o 13-18% females will give birth before age 20
o Most will remain single parents until age 30
o Average earnings will be $5,600 annually for
  the next 13 years
o In 2002, incidence of teen birth was 42.9/1000:
  decline of 40% since 1991
Risk factors for Teen Pregnancy



   o Socioeconomic
   o Educational
   o Psychological
   o Social (peers, media)
Socioeconomic Risk Factors




 60% of pregnant teens come
 from families living in poverty
Socioeconomic Risk Factors (cont’d)


              Typical community
  • high poverty
  • welfare use
  • high crime
  • poor schools
  • limited health services
  • poor housing
  • receptive of high risk behavior
    (including teen pregnancy)
Socioeconomic Risk Factors (cont’d)

              Typical household
    •   single mother
    •   who was also pregnant at an early age
    •   large family size
    •   possibly an elder sister who gave birth
        as an adolescent
            Educational Risk Factors

•   Parents often do not graduate from high school
•   Schools lack facilities to stimulate learning
•   1/3 of schools promote abstinence as the only option to
    prevent pregnancy in sex education classes
• Lack of after-school programs
• Schools provide few good role models
• Below average academic skill
• 1/2 drop out of school before becoming pregnant
• 1/3 never receive a high school diploma
        Psychological Risk Factors

•   Lowered personal competence and skills
•   Distant, uninvolved, or over-permissive parents;
    sexually permissive siblings
•   Low motivation to succeed influenced by poor role
    models
•   Psychological problems, including depression, often
    stemming from dysfunctional families and abuse
•   Sensation seeking behavior
•   Seeking a romantic partner for social support and
    for emotional proximity
            Outside Risk Factors


•   Peer pressure
    – friends with similar sexual behavior
    – focus on popularity and autonomy
    – abuse of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs
•   Poor interpersonal communication
    – Teens who can not form solid friendships seek a
      boyfriend for most comfort and support
•   Media
    – Attractive movie characters portray spontaneous
      sex with no consequences
Who suffers from teen pregnancy?


Teens lack parenting skills and social
support systems necessary for raising
an infant. Where does the burden fall?
o Mother
o Child
o Society
Does pregnancy hurt the teen mother?


• Low level of education (30% get HS diploma)
• High rates of single parenthood
• Larger family size
  (many even have a 2nd child before age 20)
• Increased incidence of maternal death
• Increased incidence of pregnancy induced
  hypertension, anemia, and STD’s
• Depression resulting from unexpected
  responsibilities and inability to cope
Is teen pregnancy bad for the child?


 • Higher incidence of low birth weight
    • Will suffer from physical and mental problems
 • Will receive less medical care and treatment
 • Increased incidence of abuse and neglect;
   often placed in foster care
 • At risk for poor parenting, resulting from lack
   of appropriate stimulation
Is teen pregnancy bad for the child? (cont’d)

   •   Exhibit substandard academic performance:
       • 50% are more likely to have to repeat a grade
       • Do worse on tests and are likely to drop out
   •   22% become teen parents to repeat the cycle
   •   Many become chronic crime offenders or go
       to jail
   •   By the age of 24, 30% will not be in school,
       working, or looking for employment
       (compared to 17% born to mothers 20 and over)
Is teen pregnancy bad for society?


 Combined educational, social, and
 economic risks of teen parents and
 offspring create a vicious cycle:

   – Need for Public Assistance Services
   – Increased Criminal activity
   – Social Dependence
Is teen pregnancy bad for society? (cont’d)


         Public Assistance Services:
   Welfare
      - 70% will receive cash assistance within 5 years
        of childbirth
      - 40% will remain on welfare for longer than 5
        years
    Foster Care
      - Estimated cost to the society is 1 billion/year and
        could be eliminated
Is teen pregnancy bad for society? (cont’d)

          Increased Criminal Activity:
      - Male and female children of teen mothers
        have significantly increased risk for
        juvenile offending, including chronic
        offending (5 or more crimes)

      - Males born to unmarried teen mothers
        have an 11-fold increased risk of chronic
        offending compared with males born to
        mothers 20 years old and over
Is teen pregnancy bad for society? (cont’d)


    Teen mothers who do not finish high school:
      - Less likely to have good work skills and be a
        dependable employee
      - Limited education, low basic skills, and limited
        job experience lead to few jobs and low wages
      - Only 15-20% of unmarried teens have been
        awarded child support, and of those, only 1/3 of
        those awards are actually received
         Adolescent Father


              On average
• 2-3 years older than mother
• Completes one less semester of high school
• Due to lack of diploma, more likely to be
 unemployed and on welfare
• Earns $4372 less than those fathering at
 age 20; will be unable to contribute
 financially
   Who can help address the
   issue of teen pregnancy?


o Government
o Community
o Schools
o Peers
o Family
    What can the government do?

In 1996, a new welfare reform law put in place
   – Abstinence Education Program
     ($50 million/year, for 5 years)
     • designed to promote abstinence from sexual
       activity until marriage
     • provides federal grants to states for abstinence
       education activities such as mentoring and
       counseling
     • gives states the flexibility to use additional
       federal funds for teen pregnancy prevention
       activities
What can the government do? (cont’d)


  – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
    (TANF)
    • Two primary goals: prevention of out-of-
      wedlock pregnancies and encouraging
      formation of two-parent families
    • May be used to support teen pregnancy
      prevention efforts
    • Requires unmarried minor parents to stay in
      school and live at home or a supervised setting,
      in order to receive assistance
What can the government do? (cont’d)



 In January 1997, Personal Responsibility and
 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act appeared
 – Relies on 5 basic principles of teen pregnancy
   prevention and on the support and integration of
   pregnancy prevention efforts with other positive
   youth development in our communities
     What can the community do?


• Decrease levels of community stress
  – target crime, encourage town pride

• Provide opportunities for good jobs
• Implement programs to foster self esteem
  resiliency and academic achievement
• Make sure friends and advocates foster an
  environment for success
 What can the community do (cont’d)


• Keep kids busy between 4-7pm in volunteer
  work, youth clubs, and sports
• Provide opportunities for teens to participate
  and be recognized
• Encourage religious organizations to plan
  activities that help teens make good choices
• Implement parenting classes and teen
  pregnancy prevention programs
       What can the schools do?



• Expand sex education to cover contraception
  (not just abstinence)
• Remember that sex education should go
  beyond biological facts:
  – Teach how to manage peer pressure
  – Teach the emotional (and physical) consequences
    of sexually active behavior
    What can the schools do (cont’d)


• Involve the youth in sex education programs, so
  they can practice knowledge of abstinence,
  reproduction, and contraception
• Teach problem solving, decision making, and
  interpersonal communication
• Keep teenagers engaged in education. Offer all
  an opportunity to succeed, in order to prevent
  failure and drop-outs
• Create role models who can form positive
  relationships with students
       What can the families do?

• Increase parent presence in the home:
  – Be there when child wakes up, returns from school,
    at dinner time, and at bed time

• Create a sense of safety and security
• Maintain a close emotional relationship
• Provide even more supervision: reduces
  opportunities for risk behaviors
• Encourage competence and mastery
       What can the teenagers do?


• Build social and personal competence
• Practice decision making and conflict resolution
  skills
• Form relationships with others, by trying new
  roles and experimenting with self-identity
• Develop accountability to others
• Seek membership in low-risk groups
           Conclusion



     While the government programs
    have shown success in reducing
teen pregnancy, the momentum needs
  to continue and grow even stronger.
        Conclusion (cont’d)



      Families and communities must
   encourage high-risk youth by fostering
    programs for increasing self-worth,
finding better employment opportunities,
 and stimulating social and extracurricular
                 activities.
        Conclusion (cont’d)


 Schools will still remain a primary focus
    for encouragement of key values
        and decision making skills.

 The new programs will be responsible
      for the ultimate transition from
    “below the waist” sex education to
sex education involving the whole person!
                      References

Center for Mental Health in Schools at U.C.L.A. (2004). An
    introductory packet on teen pregnancy prevention and
    support [Electronic version]. Los Angeles, CA: Author.
Edelman, C.L., & Mandle, C. L. (2002). Health promotion
    throughout the lifespan. (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Mendez-Negrete, J. Can a culturally informed after-school
    curriculum make a difference in teen pregnancy prevention?
    Preliminary evidence in the case of San Antonio's
    Escuelitas. Families in Society, 87(1), 95-104.
Pereira, A.I.F., Canavarro, M.C., Cardoso, M.F., & Mendonca, D.
    (2005). Relational factors of vulnerability and protection for
    adolescent pregnancy: a cross-sectional comparative study
    of Portuguese pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents of low
    socioeconomic status. Adolescence, 40(159), 655-171.