Teen Pregnancy

I. Causes of teen pregnancy

There are quite a number of factors that influence teen pregnancy in the United States; among those factors, here are the main and most important:

A. Lack of a good education

Lack of sexual education: “[…] what teenagers lack is accurate information (Cassel, 1981) and knowledge (Gordon, 1981) concerning sexuality.” Sexual education is encouraged by the United States in Middle Schools and High Schools, but not sufficiently. There are some sectors of the American population that don't know how to use a condom. There are some sectors as well of the American population that don't know anything of almost anything about STD's, or sexually transmitted diseases. The fact that a part of the teenage population in the United States doesn't know anything or almost anything about sexual education makes the same population susceptible to early pregnancy. When the child reaches puberty, his hormones are in a state of change. The child is then interested and curious about sex issues. Starting from then, the child (in contrast of his/her period of time before puberty) is attracted to the members of the other sex. When a teenager receives little or none sexual education at all, he/she is going to act in agreement to his/her instincts or his/her common sense. The common sense would tell the teenager to have sex without any protection at all. Or, for example, the common sense would tell the male teenager to ejaculate outside the female reproductive organ, not knowing that there is the “pre-seminal” liquid during penetration, which provokes conception, and therefore, pregnancy.

2. Results

Furthermore, the common sense would tell teenagers that the use of condoms reduces sexual pleasure: Researchers from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and three other institutions surveyed more than 1,400 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 21 who had unprotected sex in the previous 90 days. They found that teens that did not use condoms were significantly more likely to believe that condoms reduce sexual pleasure and were also more concerned that their partner would not approve of condom use. The findings appear in the September/October issue of Public Health Reports.

Scientists have researched anti-conception methods and have published information regarding those results to the public. That useful information is available and can be used by educated teenagers, which are the ones who live their lives without early pregnancy. If the whole student population of the country was encouraged or (to some extent) obliged to receive sexual education, teenage pregnancy would reduce to lower levels, making life conception a thing for only adults.

1. Reasons for increased sexual activity

The influence of media on the teen audience: TV commercials, newspaper and internet adds, public announcements in the street, magazines, and other kinds of media are always advertising products in which sexual attraction or pleasure are promoted to sell a determined product. You can see an exposed human body or a couple during sexual activity in an advertisement of a cologne or perfume, for ...