TEENAGE PREGNANCY 1 TEENAGE PREGNANCY 5 Liberty University HSCO 500 Introduction to Human Services Counseling Author: Shawnreco Washington Date: October 15, 2016 Introduction Teen pregnancy is a term used to refer to girls who become pregnant before reaching the legal age of adulthood. These pregnancies are usually unplanned since many of them ignore the fact that pregnancy can occur once a girl starts ovulating from as early as thirteen years old. Teen pregnancy often encounters health issues to both the mother and child if proper prenatal care is not adhered to. Apart from health issues, there are other factors which affect pregnant teen mothers such as socioeconomic and psychological impacts to the mother and her family. Teen pregnancy, therefore, has to be addressed so as to minimize the rates of school dropouts due to pregnancy. Causes of Teenage Pregnancy Sexual abuse in the form of rape is one of the leading causes of teenage pregnancy. Teenage girls can undergo this ordeal when they are manipulated or forced by adult males or even boys their age to have sex against their will. Many rape cases have led to pregnancies and even fatal instances among teenage girls. Lack of proper parental advice is also a cause of this social problem. Some parents are often held up by their work and avoid advising their teenage children about sex. Parents are responsible for molding their children in the right path, and this includes talking to them about sexual intercourse. When this issue is neglected, teenage children may not find it too wrong to experiment on having sex. Misinformed teens can often take part in sex and therefore can lead to teenage pregnancies. Peer pressure is one of the leading causes of many social issues in the society. Teenagers often try to impress their friends so as to make them feel that they fit into the group. Sex for teens may be considered to be the perfect way to fit into a group of friends (Kearney & Levine, 2015). This may in turn influence many individuals to take part in sexual intercourse so as to impress the friends. When friends influence others decisions, they do that without taking consideration of the possible consequences of having sex such as unplanned pregnancies. Peer pressure propels this social problem since many teenagers do not want to ridicule by their peers if they fail to live up to their expectations. Poverty can be a cause of this social dilemma. Teenage girls who come from poor backgrounds do not often have the opportunity to have a proper education. Education is necessary for developing teens since they can be educated about their sexuality and impacts of having unprotected sex. When teens are deprived of this opportunity, they lack the proper knowledge about sex and are likely to have uninten ...

1. TEENAGE PREGNANCY
1
TEENAGE PREGNANCY
5
Liberty University
HSCO 500
Introduction to Human Services Counseling
Author: Shawnreco Washington
Date: October 15, 2016
Introduction
Teen pregnancy is a term used to refer to girls who become

2. pregnant before reaching the legal age of adulthood. These
pregnancies are usually unplanned since many of them ignore
the fact that pregnancy can occur once a girl starts ovulating
from as early as thirteen years old. Teen pregnancy often
encounters health issues to both the mother and child if proper
prenatal care is not adhered to. Apart from health issues, there
are other factors which affect pregnant teen mothers such as
socioeconomic and psychological impacts to the mother and her
family. Teen pregnancy, therefore, has to be addressed so as to
minimize the rates of school dropouts due to pregnancy.
Causes of Teenage Pregnancy
Sexual abuse in the form of rape is one of the leading causes of
teenage pregnancy. Teenage girls can undergo this ordeal when
they are manipulated or forced by adult males or even boys their
age to have sex against their will. Many rape cases have led to
pregnancies and even fatal instances among teenage girls.
Lack of proper parental advice is also a cause of this social
problem. Some parents are often held up by their work and
avoid advising their teenage children about sex. Parents are
responsible for molding their children in the right path, and this
includes talking to them about sexual intercourse. When this
issue is neglected, teenage children may not find it too wrong to
experiment on having sex. Misinformed teens can often take
part in sex and therefore can lead to teenage pregnancies.
Peer pressure is one of the leading causes of many social issues
in the society. Teenagers often try to impress their friends so as
to make them feel that they fit into the group. Sex for teens may
be considered to be the perfect way to fit into a group of friends
(Kearney & Levine, 2015). This may in turn influence many
individuals to take part in sexual intercourse so as to impress
the friends. When friends influence others decisions, they do
that without taking consideration of the possible consequences
of having sex such as unplanned pregnancies. Peer pressure
propels this social problem since many teenagers do not want to
ridicule by their peers if they fail to live up to their
expectations.

3. Poverty can be a cause of this social dilemma. Teenage girls
who come from poor backgrounds do not often have the
opportunity to have a proper education. Education is necessary
for developing teens since they can be educated about their
sexuality and impacts of having unprotected sex. When teens
are deprived of this opportunity, they lack the proper knowledge
about sex and are likely to have unintended pregnancies.
Poverty not only limits teens from having a good education but
also can be forced to early marriages. Girls may be compelled
off to early marriages by their parents so as to help them find
means to survive poverty. Early marriages subject young girls
to the prospect of teenage pregnancy.
Drug and substance abuse is another cause of early pregnancy.
Teenagers who are not adequately restricted from taking alcohol
and other substances can lower their impulses for self-control
and may end up having unprotected sex. Proper restrictions have
to be imposed so as to prevent teenagers from being under the
influence. Parents have also to advise their children so as to
ensure that they are disciplined and can control their sexual
urges during adolescence.
Psychological factors can also bring about teenage pregnancies.
Teenagers undergoing adolescence need adequate attention from
their family so as to provide them with the needed emotional
support (Hillis, Anda, Dube, Felitti & Marks, 2016). When there
is a lack of the relationship ties, teenagers will divert to where
they would find the love they desire.

4. Reference
Hillis, S. D., Anda, R. F., Dube, S. R., Felitti, V. J.,
Marchbanks, P. A., Macaluso, M., & Marks, J. S. (2016). The
protective effect of family strengths in childhood against
adolescent pregnancy and its long-term psychosocial
consequences. Issues.
Kearney, M. S., & Levine, P. B. (2015). Media influences on
social outcomes: the impact of MTV's 16 and pregnant on teen
childbearing. The American Economic Review, 105(12), 3597-
3632.
TEENAGE PREGNACY
1
TEENAGE PREGNACY
4
Liberty University
HSCO 500
Introduction to Human Services Counseling
Author:

5. Date: October 3, 2016
The term teenage pregnancy is used in everyday speech to refer
to girls who fall within the ages of thirteen to nineteen
becoming pregnant (Aubrey, Behm-Morawitz & Kim, 2014).
Teenage pregnancies may result due to many reasons some of
which include. First, it arises because of customs and traditions
which encourage teenage girls to engage in early marriages.
Secondly, it results because of peer pressure to engage in sexual
activity. Lastly, the issue of adolescent sexual behavior that
could also be encouraged by drug abuse has seen many ladies
become pregnant at a teenage. Studies indicates that teenage
pregnancies among girls can have adverse both socio-economic
and psychological impacts on the mother, the child and her
family.
Personal reasons for choosing the topic
The detrimental impacts and the continued rise in cases of
teenage pregnancies in the society today have made me select
the topic. The effects of teenage pregnancy not only affect the
mother but also have indirect impacts to members of the society
and the whole world. For example, most of the teenage mothers
and their children continue to increase dependency ratio and put
a lot of burden on their family (Leppälahti, Gissler, Mentula &
Heikinheimo, 2013). After giving birth, they end up dropping
out of schools to attend to the kids and finally they get married
without any source of income.
Global reason for selecting the topic and how it applies to
human services profession
Studies shows that pregnant teens are less likely obtain the
prenatal care and as a result, the global incidents of premature
births and low birth weights have significantly increased among

6. the teenage mothers (Shah, Gee & Theall, 2014). The risks for
medical challenges for girls aged fourteen years and below are
greater since the undeveloped pelvis may cause complications
during birth. Finally, human services profession needs
professionals who understand the needs and the dynamics in the
current society. This way, human service profession will equip
individuals who offer can proper guidance to teenagers to
prevent cases of teenage pregnancies.
References
Aubrey, J. S., Behm-Morawitz, E., & Kim, K. (2014).
Understanding the effects of MTV's 16 and pregnant on
adolescent girls' beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions
toward teen pregnancy. Journal of health communication,
19(10), 1145-1160.
Leppälahti, S., Gissler, M., Mentula, M., & Heikinheimo, O.
(2013). Is teenage pregnancy an obstetric risk in a welfare
society? A population-based study in Finland, from 2006 to
2011. BMJ open, 3(8), e003225.
Shah, M. K., Gee, R. E., & Theall, K. P. (2014). Partner support

7. and impact on birth outcomes among teen pregnancies in the
United States. Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology,
27(1), 14-19.