Causes of Teenage Pregnancy

The Causes of Teenage Pregnancy and the Effects on the Community There are many different causes of teenage pregnancy. Every teenage girl is brought up under different family and personal conditions, therefore presenting many different causes of teenage pregnancy. These causes can range from internal factors to external factors. Some of these causes include drugs and alcohol, sexual abuse and child maltreatment, and technology dangers. All of these contribute to teenage pregnancy. Another cause of teenage pregnancy is sexual abuse and child maltreatment. This affects teenagers in all areas of development like cognitive development, social development, psychological, and emotional development. When a teenage girl is sexually abused and maltreated, she usually develops bad self esteem and her confidence level drops dramatically. When this happens, sexual activity is used as a justification of her internal problems and also they sometimes think that they can find comfort in their partners. This is bad because when they think like this, it becomes more and more repetitive and they are more likely to become pregnant. However, sexual abuse and child maltreatment can be described as an internal problem which leads to an external problem. It is an internal problem because it affects the emotions, self esteem and confidence and it leads to external problems because it involves teenage pregnancy. Last but not least, there is technology dangers. This is another famous cause of teenage pregnancy. Technology is a new means of communication now a day. It seems to be destroying teenagers slowly but surely. Millions of teenagers go online every day, around the hours when there is little or no adult supervision. This allows for online dating, hooking up and promiscuity. Many times teens depend on technology to find relationships or just male friends and end up with the wrong company. They agree to meet at a certain place then get engaged in unprotected sexual activities. This leads to unplanned pregnancy. Many times they barely know the person they are contacting, but still make the choice to meet them in person. Online friendships can be very deceiving, especially in the case of online predators. They pretend to be someone that they are not mainly to get with younger adults or children because they know that some of them do not have proper judgment and will therefore make wrong decisions. So they basically use them and bribe them in order to get what they want, which is mostly sex. This is very dangerous as it can lead to sexual harassment, pregnancy, or death. Some teens use technology because of their low level of self esteem and confidence. They are not comfortable with meeting new people in person so they use technology for this purpose. They can either pretend to be someone that they are not, or they can simply use identification of themselves that they feel is worthy enough and pretty enough to be shown and appreciated by the opposite sex. So this is also an internal problem which leads to an external problem. It is an internal problem because of the low self esteem and low confidence. That is mainly the reason behind them using technology to find friends and partners. This leads to an external problem because of pregnancy. They actually meet their new friends and partners in person, end up having sex and getting pregnant. This is why technology dangers is an internal problem which leads to an external problem. Those were some effects on the teenager themselves but teenage pregnancy has some effects on the community. Because the rates of teenage pregnancy are so high, there can be an economic strain on the community. If all the teenage girls were to stay in school and get the proper education that was intended for them, they would not have to be out there looking for jobs and taking care of their babies. The salaries that are used to pay these teenagers can be used to pay other employees who really deserve it or give raises to those who earned them. Also, the parents of the teenager has to put aside all their priorities just to make sure that their daughters are in good care because that is their responsibility no one else’s. Becoming pregnant as a teenager also inhibits the education that they can be receiving. When they should be in school getting a proper education, they have to stay home and take care of a baby and also find a job so that they can be financially stable in order to make sure the baby is well taken care of. So they lose out on the education and in the future they begin to regret this because they would not be able to get a stable job that can allow them to financially provide for both the child and themselves. They depend on their parents for financial support and this forces their parents to feel as if they have a heavy burden. Teenage pregnancy also has a large effect on the younger generation behind them. Usually they need someone to look up to and model and model the actions. But if they realize that their role models are getting pregnant at very young ages they my think that getting pregnant as a teenager is acceptable so they end up following that path and making the wrong decisions also. References (2008, May 28). Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco. Retrieved from http://www.4parents.gov/sexrisky/risky/alcohol_drugs_tobacco/alcohol_drugs_tobacco.html

References: (2008, May 28). Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco. Retrieved from http://www.4parents.gov/sexrisky/risky/alcohol_drugs_tobacco/alcohol_drugs_tobacco.html