Letter to the Editor on Teen Pregnancy
Letter to the editor on teen pregnancy
DeVry University
05/10/2014
I’m writing in response to Nicole Etolin’s article, “The Effects of Teenage Pregnancy: Examining the Results of 12 Studies.” This brief article outlines the risks associated with teen pregnancy. Speaking as someone who has been through teen pregnancy, I feel that the risks Etolin points out paint a picture that is different from what I experienced. Does getting pregnant at a young age cause teen mothers to drop out of school and consequently lead lives in poverty? In my opinion, a lot depends on the young girls living situation before getting pregnant. If a girl lived in poverty during her childhood, there is a much higher chance of her dropping out of school and continuing a life of poverty when she gets older whether she becomes a teen mother or not. The first point Etolin outlines is the risk of teen mothers dropping out of high school. “A study performed by Child Trends discovered that 34% of teenage moms do not receive a high school diploma or GED before they turn 22.” (Etolin, 2012) She then goes on to say how this study does not take into account those girls who had already dropped out or had academic issues before getting pregnant. More than likely there are other factors that this study didn’t take into account such as the living conditions of the teen moms before they got pregnant. It is well known that there is a correlation between poverty and lack of education, so who’s to say that poverty wasn’t the actual cause of these girls failing to finish their education? I personally did not live in poverty when I got pregnant and had a lot of help available to me through programs at my school. However, girls who do live in poverty and get pregnant do not have the resources available to them and not much hope for future success. In their article “Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter?” Melissa Kearney and Adam
DeVry University
05/10/2014
I’m writing in response to Nicole Etolin’s article, “The Effects of Teenage Pregnancy: Examining the Results of 12 Studies.” This brief article outlines the risks associated with teen pregnancy. Speaking as someone who has been through teen pregnancy, I feel that the risks Etolin points out paint a picture that is different from what I experienced. Does getting pregnant at a young age cause teen mothers to drop out of school and consequently lead lives in poverty? In my opinion, a lot depends on the young girls living situation before getting pregnant. If a girl lived in poverty during her childhood, there is a much higher chance of her dropping out of school and continuing a life of poverty when she gets older whether she becomes a teen mother or not. The first point Etolin outlines is the risk of teen mothers dropping out of high school. “A study performed by Child Trends discovered that 34% of teenage moms do not receive a high school diploma or GED before they turn 22.” (Etolin, 2012) She then goes on to say how this study does not take into account those girls who had already dropped out or had academic issues before getting pregnant. More than likely there are other factors that this study didn’t take into account such as the living conditions of the teen moms before they got pregnant. It is well known that there is a correlation between poverty and lack of education, so who’s to say that poverty wasn’t the actual cause of these girls failing to finish their education? I personally did not live in poverty when I got pregnant and had a lot of help available to me through programs at my school. However, girls who do live in poverty and get pregnant do not have the resources available to them and not much hope for future success. In their article “Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter?” Melissa Kearney and Adam
References: Etolin, N. (2012, June 11). The Effects of Teenage Pregnancy -Our Family World. Our Family World. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from http://www.ourfamilyworld.com/2012/06/11/the-effects-of-teenage-pregnancy-examining-the-results-of-12-studies/ Kearney, M., & Levine, P. (2012). Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter?. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26, 141–166. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.26.2.141