Polling the crowd: What are causes of teen pregnancy?
Here are some responses some of my colleagues and myself came up with. What are your thoughts?
· Lack of adequate and correct information about sexual health and birth control
· Lack of parental guidance and open communication on the topic of sex and healthy sexual decision making
· Lack of adult mentors and guidance on how to properly deal with peer pressure
· Drug and alcohol use
· Sex in the media and the misogynistic nature of popular music
· Biological changes, including a surge in hormones
· Low self-confidence and drive
· Religion
· Cultural differences (i.e. cultural perception of teen pregnancy)
· Low accountability for actions
· The need to receive unconditional love from a child because they may not be receiving it themselves
Belief pregnancy won't happen to them; embarrassment to purchase/issues with access to condoms.
ReplyDeleteyou should add the glamorization of pregnancy in general. i mean, a 12-13 year old girl isn't going to watch "Juno" with the same level of maturity and understanding as a 25 year old, they can easily misunderstand messages. same goes for all the magazine spreads celebrating pregnant celebs. i wouldn't go so far as to say they should stop anything, just maybe package their messaging more carefully.
ReplyDeleteGreat list. I think that lack of adequate information about birth control is probably one the largest factors contributing to teen pregnancy, but even with comprehensive sex-ed, many teenagers face a lot of barriers to obtaining safe and affordable birth control- even getting condoms can be difficult.
ReplyDeleteAlso, was religion suggested as a cause for teen pregnancy because many discourage contraception or are there other reasons as well?
Thank you for the responses! Very helpful, indeed.
ReplyDeleteOleander: Yes. Religion is on the list due to belief in abstinence-only programs, not using contraception, etc. This is a hairy area, unfortunately. I just came across a website for an initiative in FL to get more comprehensive science-based pgms in the schools /c the strong abstinence-only approach in the state is not effective.
Shivani: Good point. I will be sure to include that under Sex in the media.
Anatolia: Yes - teens think they are invincible!