...the environment influences teenage pregnancy in the United States. The purpose of this essay is to identify how preeminent teenage pregnancy has become in teens ages fourteen and up, how famous it has become in the United States and how the majority of teens do not finish their education after becoming pregnant. The sources used in this essay provide the necessary information needed for readers to understand why and how a teenagers environment has become influential for them becoming pregnant. Teenage pregnancy is affecting teens by causing them to drop out of school and not finish their education which later results in a limited amount of choices when choosing a career. Outline Thesis: The social life of teenagers influences teenage pregnancy through pressure from peers, too much access to the media and lack of sex education from parents and teachers in the United States. I. Peer pressure in the United States is the major factor influencing teenage pregnancy in the U.S. A. During adolescence, teenagers often feel pressure to make friends and fit in with their peers. B. Many times these teens let their friends influence their decision to have sex. C. The Kaiser Family Foundation states that more than 29 percent of pregnant teens reported that they felt pressured to have sex. II. Excessive access to the media plays an important role in teenage pregnancy A. In the U.S today, the majority of teens have access to...
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...Medias Influence On Teen Pregnancy Tina Marie Bergelt Media Ethics November 2014 Teen pregnancy is described as a girl between the ages 13-19 who becomes pregnant. This phenomenon has been around historically and still continues today. Teenagers are very unaware of the consequences of unprotected sex and can result in having a child in their teenage years. Many teenagers watch television daily. Television has evolved from the past decade from reporting news to reality TV. Many television shows in the 21st century are now engrossed in teenage pregnancy. Many different actresses play the role of a pregnant teenage girl or the actress is actually pregnant in real life, this causes teenage girls to idolize them and when watching their idol it inspires one to be like them. Television is a very powerful tool and can significantly impact the actions of its viewers. With the amount of teenagers watching television today, movies and television shows that partake in having teenage pregnancy in their programs influence actual pregnancy within the teenage girls that are watching the shows. Historically, in the 1950’s, people got married before they were 20 and being pregnant while you were a teenager was the norm. This was because women were less likely to gain an education passed elementary school so they got married and started their families in their mid-teens (Daphne Matthews, 2011). During the 1950’s, television was introduced; however in its infancy, it was only used to pass...
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...Throughout the previous years, teenage pregnancy has become a public distress and has generated abundant attention in the Philippines. Nearly every year, there is an increase in the percentage of pregnant teens. In August 2014, the Philippine Statistics Authority released the final results of the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The survey shows that childbearing is increasing among girls from 15 to 19 years old across all regions in the Philippines. Teenage pregnancy is prevalent in the Philippines due to the influence of media, absence of good role models and lack of financial resources. Messages from the newspapers, magazines, radio and television have always had a great influence in shaping adolescent behavior. The media and advertising business has always been successful in making people recall their brands. Advertising not only encourages consumers to buy goods and services they cannot afford, but also appeals to the emotions of the customers. Sex appeal is used to sell products in many ways. The people in the media industry take advantage of the audience’s responsiveness to sexual stimuli to make a profit. The increasing sexualization of content in the media suggests teenagers that these are normal ways to behave. Advertisement and the media have found ways to sell sex, regardless of the target audience. Sex talk is typical in magazines like Cosmopolitan, FHM and Maxim. Sex is the main theme in TV series like Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl...
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...Running head: MORE THAN HORMONES Teen Pregnancy: More Than Just Raging Hormones Amberette Kennard Psychology 101 Professor Greg Harmling 05/10/2011 Teen Pregnancy: More Than Just Raging Hormones A young girl gets ready to leave for school. She brushes her teeth, combs her hair and picks out an outfit. She gets dressed and takes one final look in the mirror before heading out. She stares at her midsection, anxiously trying to adjust her shirt. It’s getting harder and harder to hide…soon everyone will know... Despite a one-third decline since the early 1990s, the United States still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth among comparable countries. In 2008, the U.S. teen birth rate was 41.5 births per 1,000 girls age 15-19. By way of comparison, the U.S. teen birth rate is nearly two times higher than the United Kingdom (26.7 per 1,000). (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2010) Teen pregnancy has been the leading topic of many U.S. talk shows, news programs, documentaries, and movies. Its appearance in so many mediums demonstrates that there is a fascination with and strong desire to understand the problem of teen pregnancy in the United States and the constant search for a solution. There have been many studies on the physical causes of teen pregnancy such as rising hormone levels, the adolescent brain’s transition, and more. Although there has been...
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...Related Literature and Studies This chapter presents the related literature and studies about the factors affecting teenage pregnancy. Implications of these related articles and topics were used in the conduct of this study that aimed to describe the theoretical basis of the study being undertaken. A. PERSONAL FACTORS Positive family interaction According to Perez (2010) even though family relationships are important, family communication is especially important because it gives the foundation in a teenager’s life and relationships. Without the strong communication dialogue between family members, teenagers are more likely to make unhealthy choices with their life and relationships. In general, people find it difficult to communicate and understand what is happening in the world around them. Not having communication dialogue between family members is disruptive to the family’s environment and structure. It is especially destructive to an individual’s life because without communication, the individual is left with no support and clarity of his/ her social surroundings. The field of communication offers knowledge and understanding between family members and individuals. Family communication is the foundation that strengthens family interaction. Lack of communication affects behaviors and attitudes. Young people who reported feeling a lack of parental warmth, love, or caring were also more likely to report emotional distress, lower self-esteem, school problems...
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...no doubt that the debate of the limits the media should have has been ongoing. More and more people are becoming the types that automatically find someone else to blame for their problems or life choices. This continues through to the producers of the media, but viewers have to realize it is who they are that determines how they interpret the media they watch. Although there are multiple articles about the harmful effects of pop culture on society, it can only be influencing if someone is willing to witness it. Most people start attacking the producers of a certain show when an event happens. Every time a student causes chaos in school, one of the first questions is what is this student watching or listening to. This is not totally unjustifiable because young minds are more prone to the influence of the media. Producers have a responsibility to their viewers as they are planning to air a new show they’ve created. This is why there aren’t live murders or why most TV shows mock difficult topics to be able to talk about them, but what is aired isn’t much better than that. As Johnson says in Watching TV Makes You Smarter, “the usual counterargument here is that what media have lost in moral clarity, they have gained in realism”. The problem doesn’t entirely rest on the producers; it also lies within what the viewers are willing to subject themselves to. All types of people are offended by what they see from the media, but these people never sit back and realize...
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...Teenage pregnancy – an old problem in the US, a new issue in China Wang Yannan Academic Writing Skills Group 15 Dymond Ayre October 3, 2006 Abstract Teenage pregnancy has been a serious social problem all over the world these years. This paper discusses the teenage pregnancy rates in both the US and China. It briefly talks about the situation of teenage pregnancy in both countries. Two points are being argued: the rate of teenage pregnancy rate has declined in the US, but it remains very high; and the rate of teenage pregnancy is on the rise in China. Analysis of why the rate declines but remains high in the US and why it rises in China is also given in the paper. It is followed by a comparison between the situation in the US and China. Finally, this paper concludes with an overall summary of the issue and the conclusion of the causes discussed in the paper. Teenage pregnancy – an old problem in the US, a new issue in China Introduction When mentioned about teenage pregnancy 10 years ago, most of us must think that it mainly happens in the US; while China is never taken into consideration. However, now, ten years later, you can no longer think so. The problem is concerned in both the US and China, and is becoming worldwide. In the US, although owing to some effective programs and better sex education teenage pregnancy rate has declined during the past twenty years, statistics show that the US still has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy compared with...
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...Persuasive Paper How Teen Pregnancy Can Effect Teens 8/5/13 ENG/215 By Nick Matthew Sahlin Teenage pregnancy is technically defined as occurring when a woman under the age of 20 becomes pregnant. Numerous teenagers nowadays happen be teenage mothers. There have being several approaches to look at when this does affect all of young girls within ensuing sections i`m going to put in plain words the countless issues each and every teenage mother goes during the course of common lifetime along with their time ahead. I`m going to inform various possibilities in addition to discussing change in a young girl’s experience. The social efficient effect teenage birth will cause beginning sequence lack of knowledge along with deprivation, also perpetual shortage relatives with social livelihood arrangements required construct beneficial lifetime. Teenagers that are pregnant happen to be a big aspect concerned in conjunction with institute failure figures. Nowadays, teenage pregnancy has become a growing concern and therefore to look into the various causes of teenage pregnancy has become crucial in order to deal with the issue carefully. There are serious health risks must be taken by young mothers and their babies, hence made teenage pregnancy are widely dishearten. Teenage Pregnancy are more common in developed countries, particularly USA. Teenage pregnancy refers to pregnancy occurs in young girls, mostly in the range of age 13 to 17 years old. Pregnancy that happened at...
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...Sexual Maturation Adolescent Sexual Maturation Rachel Siminski PSY351 December 10, 2012 Abstract Children have a rate of sexual maturation that follows them throughout life; there are physical and mental effects. These changes in an adolescent reflect changing mental states as a result of physical changes. There are more sexual desires, feelings of increased intimacy and a different understanding of their physical body. There are many correlations between the changes of the mind and body, I will also describe theories of you they effect one another. Adolescent Sexual Maturation Adolescence is a challenging period for both children and their parents. Three stages of adolescence - early, middle, and late, are experienced by most teens, but the age at which each stage is reached varies greatly from child to child. These different rates of maturation are connected to physical development and hormone balance, neither of which the child can control. For this reason, adolescents should be treated as individuals and any guidelines should be adapted to the particular child. The biological changes we associate with adolescence actually unfold over a long period of time, beginning with the maturation of the adrenal axis during childhood and ending with the maturation of the gonadal axis in the early 20s (Steinberg, 2011). Piagets Theory and Adolescent Maturity At 15 years of age a teenager is well prepared to understand the risks. According to Jean Piaget and his Theory of...
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...TEEN PREGNANCY Teen pregnancy is a very social issue in America. As some parents try to teach their sons and daughters to abstain from putting themselves in a teen pregnancy situation, it is evident that it is rapidly still occurring. In 2012 the teen birth rate was 305,388, which is 29 births per 1,000 girls. (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies, 2014) According to statistics this a “42 percent decline between 1990 and 2008.” (Health, 2014) MTV has a series of shows pertaining to teen pregnancy that some say glamorize it. 16 and Pregnant is one of those shows, and Teen Mom is another that follow the lives and pregnancies of young teen girls. While watching these shows rarely do you see actual struggles the girls are going through with their babies and parenting, it is more the struggles of the teens and their relationships and friendships. How could these shows possibly help young teen and pre-teen girls abstain from sex or make smart choices when it comes to pregnancy prevention? While society sees these shows as ridiculous and glamourizing, statistics show a decrease in teen pregnancy since the airing of the shows. According to Neilsen ratings, google searches, and social media studies have shown that there were increased searches on birth control methods and abortion. (Wilson, 2014) I believe that most teens that are surrounded by family, enrolled in school, allowed to play sports, and attend church are more likely to abstain from teen...
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...Teenage Pregnancy in the U.S. Brandon Lisak Principals of Sociology 4/31/2014 “Each year in the U.S. almost one million teenagers become pregnant at enormous costs to themselves, their children, and society”. (Pregnant Teen Help, Teen Pregnancy Statistics) Some would argue that teen pregnancy is all glorified. Other individuals would protest that it is too influential. Teen pregnancy is a rising social problem in the United States and among other countries. Teen pregnancy is now being publicized as multimedia corporations, with shows such as “16 & Pregnant”, “Teen Mom”, “Maury”, “Secret Life of the American Teenager”, and “Juno”. All of which concentrate on teen pregnancy. These shows or movies could be informational for young people. However, the shows display an altered reality that teen pregnancy is easy, laughs and joy. Despite what the shows might portray teen pregnancy is an uprising national and global epidemic. In the past teen pregnancy has been an underline issue that is vastly taking center stage. Media, education, and economy are all components to this phenomenon, nevertheless, how are they all connected? All of which will all be addressed in the contents of this paper. Which leaves the burning question, is teen pregnancy accepted into our society as a norm, or is it still a deviant act? First and for most, there are many different definitions of teenage pregnancy depending on the source of the information. However, as a broad definition defines teenage...
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...Adolescent Sexuality and Modern Media ENG 122 August 5, 2012 Adolescent Sexuality and Modern Media Adolescents are greatly influenced negatively by media of today, whether that is adult television, music, or the World Wide Web. Our society is consumed by some form of media today, which could be the overabundance of reality shows on TV or by the use of Facebook which is exposing the youth to sexual content and innuendos. With the freedom of speech engraved into the United States Constitution, to ask that the media be regulated is almost impossible. Parents need to be held more accountable for what their children are exposed to, and if they are involved in some form of media that could be questionable, parents should have free resources available to assist in explaining the consequences of the negative behavior. Does today’s modern media truly have an effect on our adolescent girls and if so, in what ways. Girls from the ages of fourteen through 18 are doing unquestionable things today that you did not see in the ‘80’s. TV programming has taken an extreme jump from the simplicities of cartoons, comedies and sitcoms to the unregulated exposure of today’s reality, and its consequences. When one turns on the TV, channels that have been geared towards our younger generation, for example MTV and VH1, these channels initially consisted of music videos, have now turned into Pandora’s Box, with programming consisting of 16 & Pregnant, Jersey Shore, Basketball Wives...
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...Teen Pregnancy—A Social Issue After researching various statistics, I found that premarital pregnancy is quite prevalent in teenagers throughout the world. Teen pregnancy is one of the most difficult experiences a young person might ever face when it interrupts school or other plans. It can create an emotional crisis resulting in feelings of shame and fear, and it may appear that you will crumble under pressures in your environment. The stress of how one would break the news to their parents might be even greater, and finding help may seem an impossible task. People might think that they can help others, or one might be too embarrassed to search for help. For the most part, when one sees teenagers raising children, we often think that the teen has been raped or is too mature for their age. For this reason, some totally miss the issues that one must have been exposed to in their society, the society of their home, community, school. There are many viewpoints as to why teenage females are having so many children out of wedlock. However, the facts are obvious—teenaged females are highly influenced by many social issues, but those with the lack of strong parental guidance, sex education, and positive mass media are more likely to have a premarital pregnancy. As one travels the globe, they will find that industrialized and developing countries have distinctly different rates of teenage pregnancy. In the online article, “Teen Pregnancy on the Rise,” Sipokazi Maposa says that in developed...
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...Research Outline Name: Institution: Topic: The Effects of Media on Teenage Pregnancy and Childbearing Outcomes Hypothesis: The teenage girls that are exposed to watching television are more likely to become teenage mothers than the ones that are not. Abstract The study will look into the effects the specific programmes have on the sexual behaviour of teenage girls. The specific program that will be understudy is the MTV franchise called 16 and Pregnant and how the reality series that show how a teenage mother struggles with her life influence the teenage girls. I Introduction The MTV show is quite popular among the young people but it is hard to tell whether teenage girls are influenced by such TV programmes and whether the influence is positive or negative. The impact of the program 16 and Pregnant on American teenagers will be studied in this paper to determine whether the teenage girls exposed to this program are bound to make decisions based on what they view on the program. The rate at which teenage pregnancies are happening in America is alarming and this is the reason why this study is carried out. To determine whether media is playing a role in the trend and to which extent the media is responsible for the vice. II Background a. Content of TV shows b. Previous study on the effect of media on teenage pregnancies III Description of data a. Twitter b. Nielson Data c. Google trends IV A descriptive Analysis of the Exposure V Empirical Methodology a. Analyzing...
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...areas is teen pregnancy. A peer-reviewed research paper published by The Journal for Nurse Practitioners entitled “Who Will Listen? Rural Teen Pregnancy Reflections.” There are both medical and social concerns that occur with teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy statistic shows that teen mothers give birth to premature babies with low birth weight. The social aspect is teen mothers do not complete high school and lives in poverty. These situations rank high in abuse and neglect with teen parents. Definition of the Problem Rural areas show the highest rate of teen pregnancy compared to state rates, which produces a problem that researchers are questioning why this rate is higher in the rural areas. The Theory of Adolescent Sexual Decision Making (TASDM) is the basis this research was conducted to resolve. This theory has two main objectives that include the risk-promoting environments teens experience and exposure to risky situation that create the situations teens use to justify sexual behavior (Weiss, 2012). The problem with teen pregnancy produces premature birth and low birth weight in the babies. A medical problem with teen pregnancy is the medical expenses incurred with both teenager and infant. These statistics indicate that teen pregnancy result from family with no insurance and no means to pay the medical expenses teen pregnancy incurs. The social problem teen pregnancy presents are that teen mothers tend not finish high school. Teen pregnancy results in...
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