Hi, i'm doing a research paper about early pregnancy or most commonly known as teen pregnancy.

I really want to know what you guys think about it.

What do you really think the cause of teen pregnancy?
What do you think are the effects?
Is teen pregnancy really declining?
Does a child given birth by a teen mother really have more chances to be a criminal or teen mothers themselves?

You can answer these questions but if you want to say something else that's fine.

Thank you for all the people who will answer or share their opinions!:)
uhm... if anyone has answers thats sexually please refrain from doing so. But if you want to write it well try to tone it down to a pg-13. Thank you.

I think it's a lot of the TV shows today. Most glorify teen sex.
There was also Juno. It basically glorified teen pregnancy.
A lot of it has to do with media since teens are exposed to 90% of the time.

oh my!

i seriously think you're better off getting your answers from google rather than from us. most of us tend to voice opinions rather than serious research-backed statistical data which you need for your paper.

but to help you anyways, ill try to voice a few opinions.

1. i honestly think that teen pregnancy is cause by 2 teenagers having sex. i know it sounds utterly moronic, but lets face it, its the simple truth. true, statistics will also show that a certain percentage of teen pregnancies are fathered by middle-aged men, but a greater percentage is from teens doing it. (please google this one as for the specific numbers and data)

2. the effects of teen pregnancy include (in my opinion, which is totally wrong, so correct me as i go along):
a) increase in the drop-out rates of HS students
b) increase in both wedlock births and abortion statistics (please google for the specifics)
c) rise in population (ok, now this is just moronic of me, but i guess it counts somewhere)

3. as to where the statistics go with the rise or fall of teen pregnancy, i really dont know. please try to google it for the specifics.

4. well, as for the assumption, i guess we really can't say. true, environment is a huge factor as to one's maturity and development, but we can't really pin-point as to being born out of wedlock or from a teen mother makes your chances of being one in the future as a very strong and valid argument. to my knowledge, they are still researching on this matter as of the moment so we can't really know for sure. but to be safe, try to google it up.

The cause for /any/ pregnancy is unprotected sex, or failure of the protection ;)

In all seriousness though, teen pregnancy isn't new.
Teenagers have been getting pregnant for hundreds of years, and I think the main problem is that we now have media to draw attention to it. Not to mention the fact that most western societies have higher standards of living, and in truth there is no evident purpose to get pregnant this early anymore.

However, it is the basic human instinct to want to have sex, feel good, and reproduce. I think by saying that the 'pregnancy rates' are increasing or decreasing is setting yourself up for a major contradiction to the human nature.

And think about this;

We're living on a planet with more than 6 billion people, and it's said that by 2020 there will be more than 10 billion. Isn't it a fair statement to make that with the more people there are on earth, the more common we're going to see teen pregnancies than we would fifty years ago where there were only about 3-4 billion?

Originally Posted by Runes

I think it's a lot of the TV shows today. Most glorify teen sex.
There was also Juno. It basically glorified teen pregnancy.
A lot of it has to do with media since teens are exposed to 90% of the time.

Glorified?!

No. It showed how to be responsible when you're stupid enough to be teen pregnant: abort or adopt out.

Originally Posted by BloodyLuciel

What do you really think the cause of teen pregnancy?

A teen girl having sex with someone.

Originally Posted by BloodyLuciel

What do you think are the effects?

A child, for one. Depression, rejection by family members, losing friends, dropping out of high school, living in poverty. And that's only if you keep the child. If the mother doesn't keep the child, they're at least more likely to stay in school and not live in poverty.

Originally Posted by BloodyLuciel

Is teen pregnancy really declining?

It was in the '90s as a result of the introduction of oral contraceptives, but recently, no.

Originally Posted by BloodyLuciel

Does a child given birth by a teen mother really have more chances to be a criminal or teen mothers themselves?

They have more chances to be in poverty if the mother raises them, which I suppose could promote a criminal lifestyle.

What do you really think the cause of teen pregnancy?

Well, that isn't really something there's just one answer for; it's something that differs case to case.

But in general, I think that one of the main contributors is lack of proper sex education (or teaching abstinance-only) and contraception methods not being easily available.

A lot of teenagers are going to have sex, no matter what they're taught in school or by their parents. So the best course of action is to provide everyone with all of the information they need to be able to practice safer sex.

I find it amazing how many people I come across on forums who genuinely think that you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex, or think that you can't get pregnant if the man doesn't ejaculate inside of the woman, or don't know that using the wrong kind of lubrication can ruin the condom etc.

If we dismissed these myths, we'd have a lot less pregnant teenagers to deal with.

What do you think are the effects?

It's bad for everyone, really.
Teens that are pregnant or are parents are statistically much less likely to finish their education, and are much more likely to be reliant upon benefits (obviously not all of them end up that way, but I'm talking strictly in generalisations and statistics for the purpose of this thread).
Those benefits come from the tax payer's money, which means that either taxes are increased, or there's less tax money to pay for other important things, like schooling and law enforcement.

Is teen pregnancy really declining?

It depends exactly where you live, but there is undeniably a greater decline in areas where proper sex education is taught, as opposed to areas where it isn't.

Does a child given birth by a teen mother really have more chances to be a criminal or teen mothers themselves?

I'd like to hope not, I'm a big believer that a person is what they make of themselves, not the situation they're born into.

Media and our society causes it.
effects - higher drop out rate, higher middle/lower class
I don't believe that it is declining.
As far as likelihood of being a criminal or a pregnant teen, Depends on the way they are raised. A teen mother could be a perfectly good mother.

So... One thing I've noticed in my little town (and across the nation) is that it's becoming a new trend for kids to have kids... And by kids, I mean anyone under the age of 18 where the government and your forsaken parents have to help support said child (because guess what, you're in school and you can't afford to).

I don't understand what the trend is about... You don't get free housing or some shit, you don't get cash for having a kid underage, you essentially screw up a relationship and your own life and your parents lives... So I don't get it. Why not just... take precautions or NOT keep it?

And on that note; I am pro-choice.

Would also like to add, that I hate femmes who trap a guy in a relationship with a kid ¬.¬

Let the debate begin! :D

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note: only reason I want to rage about this atm is because I was watching 16&Pregnant on mtv.... stupidest freaking show ever... I hope it was meant as a deterrent....

I don't understand it either. I'm pro-choice (depending on each individual situation), but I don't understand why you would want a child at 18.

Granted I'm 18, and never want to have kids. I don't deal well with pain, and I've never known how to deal with kids under the age of 5.
My boyfriend and I are active, but we're careful. It's not that difficult to be.

I can guarantee you that some girl or some boy has watched the show and thought, hey it's just T.V. it's not real. If I have a baby it's going to be nothing like that.

Or the kids just think they're invincible and that they'll never get pregnant. *sigh* stupid people.....

YAY!! Someone else who understands and agrees!! <3

Eh, it's not that I don't want kids SOME DAY (I'm 21) but I don't want to end up like the teens on that show >.>

Either sex ed in schools isn't working (obviously) or society is getting dumber day by day. The national IQ is dropping =(

I vote free BC ^^ lol...

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Know what I think it is???

Teens that have no business having sex (anyone under 16) and even those old enough either don't have jobs or can't afford preventative methods for one reason or another, get lucky the first few times then one day they end up pregnant and just HAVE to keep it... Cause you know, it's easier to afford a kid then condoms ¬.¬

(Or like friends of mine, you listen/trust the doctors when they say, "you can't have kids" and go commando)

hmm..

well, i guess i would agree with you guys.

Sex is something complex that even the mature ones tend to fall into fallacies and misconceptions. For me, i strongly believe that anyone, regardless of age, should not engage in sex until they have acquired the necessary knowledge and truly understand the things they are getting into and are responsible enough to accept the resulting consequences of their actions.

i have seen too many of my old friends become young mothers just because of they think that a child will help the relationship stick. i find it sad that both parties seemingly get sucked into this lie where a child helps strengthen their bond. TRUE, for mature people who are ready and capable of support the child have a greater chance of pulling it off, but for adolescents, it will be very very burdensome, not only to them, but to their friends, parents and to anyone else who have a vested interest in them. the time they spend on doing both their school and family issues would actually be better spent if they concentrated on their education to prepare them for life ahead, rather than juggle soo many things at once.

as for the whole pro-choice/pro-life thing, im pro-life. something about killing off an unborn makes me squirm. Killing someone who can defend himself is something else, but we all know its still wrong.

It really irks me to see kids having kids. I mean, don't they know what it takes to have a baby??? No, you can't just pop one out and everything is honky dory. The medical bills, the diet you should take to keep your baby and body healthy, the hospital visits, clothes, food, toys for when you have the baby....none of this is easy. And from my experience, children born from parents 18 and under don't grow up in the most positive environments. Most of them grow up in low poverty families, or in neighborhoods not safe for them, or wind up living with other family members that aren't their parents.

However, what makes things worse it that there really isn't anything we can do to prevent any of this. I mean, we can only talk to these kids about absentence (sp?) or protected sex, but who is to say that these kids will actually listen and take these precautions.

Actually I remembered and thought of something earlier, when you're enrolled in school FULL TIME (i.e. HIGH SCHOOLERS) - you have free medical coverage... that's INCLUSIVE OF BC. And condoms are free at most clinics. So being totally honest, I don't know why these kids are out getting pregnant... The free student medical is there, it just takes parently consent to get the pills.

I'd rather be embarrassed for a little bit about admitting to my parents I want to be sexually active then to not tell them and bring home a positive pregnancy test.

(But I'm 21 and recently single so no worries for me, lol)

I think one of the issues are the parents of the babies having babies. A recent trend of generation X is to be a passive type of parent (you want to be your kid's friend not your kid's authority figure as a way to gain respect). The reason why I think this might be a problem is because the child who is having a child may think they get support when it comes to rearing the new born, as well as that a friend relationship is realistic to achieve with a baby. You want some one to love on and to take care of, and thusly you have a baby (whether that be an accidental birth or a planned birth). The difference between Gen X and their children is that Gen X expected responsibility as for their children may think it isnt or cant comprehend it in the very least.

Another issue would be addressing the safe sex, and an appropriate age to loss one's virginity. Statics show that the rate of individual loss of virginity is at a much earlier age for both male and females in the last 50 years. Given 2000 years ago girls did marry at age 13 and have babies, but that culture at that time allowed such situations to happen with the least degree of hardship. I know when it came to the birds and bees talk, my parents let me know straight off the bat the worse scenario, and what other hellish things would happen that at a age of 13 I would not be able to handle with emotional, physically, or financially. My parents were authoritarian when rearing their children, not passive. Some families that even know that they should have the sex talk, and dont hope this will fall on the jobs of teachers and the rest of the tax (or private) paying dollars. The schools will just point out signs of STDs, STIs, and so forth, but they wont teach about safe sex due to part of getting sued by any family that believes in no sex til marriage. So those children that think they can do sex without babies happening, without diseases, think it will magically happen without using a condemn or being on the pills.

As for those girls that want to keep a boy, thus they make him a daddy. Men can easily detached themselves from a child, they havent been holding it for 9 months, when that baby pops out, they dont instantly fall in love with the little one, they can skip town. Further more they can skip town, and in some situations never have to support the mother at all. It works better in a situation if the boy wants to keep the girl, and he knows that girl will not abort the child.

Hooray for understanding ^^

And yes, I agree that parenting now a days SUCKS. I definitly wasn't raised in a passive family, lol. I was taught what was what and my mom has always been my best friend... second. Lol. Mother/authority first, best friend second. I still fear her more then cops, lmao.

Lol no joke, my mother is one of my closest friends, but she gives me that look...and even if I am innocent, I beg for forgiveness because I think I done some wrong.

Lol yep... I hope if I ever have kids I can acquire that look.... lmao.

Merged Rhia's thread about teen pregnancy with the teen pregnancy debate since that's basically all it was... a debate.

i guess i can't relate considering im a product of a broken home and was raised by my grandmother.

but damn, that old woman was tough as nails, serious as Chuck Norris doing push-ups and as loving as any grandma should be.

i guess its not really about who taught you what or what turned who into which one, but its the values that count.

i think the reason that teen pregnancy is so prevelant right now is because we as a society make sex seem so dirty and wrong people should be taught how to use caution and safety when it comes to sex not to be afraid of it