TEENAGE PREGNANCY

Teenage Pregnancy

Teenage Pregnancy

Introduction

Of all many things in this universe there still remains an entity that surpasses rest in power. This entity is family. It has stood tests of time as foundation of human life on this planet. However, there are strongholds forming against strength of family (Alan 1999). One "stronghold" in particular is teenage pregnancy. It disrupts balance of family by adding stress and many other problems into household. The research in this paper will explore relationship of teenage pregnancy and parental supervision from household to determine if and how they are related.

Teenage Pregnancy Causes and Affects

In United States alone, more than one million teens become pregnant each year. Half of these teenagers give birth and over three million teens will acquire some sort of sexually transmitted disease. These are kind of statistics that should make one wonder why they are so high. One conclusion that many people have arrived at is the lack of parental supervision in home (Philliber Herrling 2002). What is "parental supervision" after all? Well, according to my research, this term refers to the "parent's connectedness with their children". To be "connected" as this source implies, would require parents to take an active role in life of their child/children. A large quantity of studies point out that parent/child connectedness is related with reduced teenage pregnancy risk; teens that are close to their parents are more likely to remain sexually abstinent, postpone intercourse, have fewer sexual partners, and use contraception more consistently. Caring about what goes on in their life is the major factor to decision making process they will use during their teenage years. The evidence is remarkably consistent that parental support, warmth, closeness, and connection between parents and children reduce risk of teenage pregnancy.

Besides sex, there are many other avenues that may lead to teenage pregnancy. Some variables include drugs, tobacco, alcohol, school problems, delinquency, and physical aggression (Alan 1999). As the parent, one must be on watch for any of these different behaviors. Research has shown that supportive family relationships and parental supervision decrease amount of teens that become pregnant. Family characteristics that protect teens from early sexual intercourse and pregnancy include connectedness of parents and teenagers, perceived disapproval of sex before marriage and contraception, and the greater number of shared activities and communication. Communication and it's effects on teenage pregnancy will be discussed later in this paper.

Parents can also take this "connectedness" to an unhealthy level. Teenagers require space to reason many of lives mysteries in their minds. If the parent(s) were too involved in life of their teenager, it could also have negative effects. Many teens refer this manner of thinking as "too strict." Rules are important to protect teenage from early pregnancy, however if they are over enforced they will cause teenage to want to rebel against them. Some studies point out that "very strict" screening or mental over-control by parents is connected with larger risk of teenage pregnancy, suggesting that less intrusive supervision may be more ...