The Perils of Teen Pregnancies

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, and peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

Proposed Area of Research1

Working Title1

Background of the Research1

Theoretical Framework2

Problem Statement4

Research Questions4

Research Method5

Outline of the Research6

REFERENCES7

The Perils of Teen Pregnancies

Proposed Area of Research

Large number of pregnancy prevention and sex education programs have been developed and put into practice to combat these numbers, including concentrated efforts to make contraceptive methods more extensively available. My research will focus on the effects of teenage pregnancy on life of the individual.

Working Title

Impact of teen pregnancies on individual's life.

Background of the Research

Teenage pregnancy rates reached an all-time high of 96 births per 1,000 women aged 15- 19 in 1957; nevertheless, study suggests that most of the teenage pregnancies in 1957 were in matrimony or resulted in speedy “shotgun” weddings. After 1957, teen birthrates turned down steadily during the 1960s and 1970s and stayed reliable in the early 1980s. Birth rates continued to increase between 1988 and 1991 and then began declining steeply to a low of 49 in 2000. The decline in rates from 1991-2000 have been consistent in adolescents across age and race. A study conducted by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) found that both increased abstinence and increased and more effective contraceptive use were contributing to the decline in teen birth rates (Bell, 2007).

However, despite declining birth rates, the U.S. still lags behind other industrialized nations Current research literature on teen pregnancy has identified a number of causes and risk factors for teen pregnancy, including alcohol and drug use, poor relationships with parents and peers, changing attitudes towards sex, social background, access to contraceptives, sexual abuse history, and individual personality traits. However, Luker (1996) proposed that teen pregnancy is actually an aspect of historical fertility patterns of American women and that the birth rates of women 15-19 years old have been consistent for most of the 20th century.

These perceived benefits include (but are not limited to) immediate gratification and pleasure, advancement of a relationship, social status, or knowledge, while perceived costs include negative impact on a relationship, stigma, disease, or unintended pregnancy. Woodward et al.'s (2001) research suggested that peer affiliations and teenage pregnancy were strongly correlated; adolescents who socialized with peers who engaged in antisocial and substance-using activity were also more likely to become pregnant (Fursternberg, 2003).

Theoretical Framework

Approach towards teenage pregnancy in low-income neighborhoods has been associated with “dreams of marriage and hope- however short-lived- of a stable future with a husband, children, and a home” (Jencks & Peterson 1991). In large number of communities, early sexual experience and promiscuity have been out ...