African American dynamics
...4%. The impact of the rapid growth in divorce within families is evident in statistics. “Children who grow up in single-parent homes are less likely to marry, more likely to divorce, and more likely to have children out of wedlock” (www.divorcereform.com). The chances of a teenager becoming pregnant are much higher in single-family homes, than of teens living with both parents, of those teens one out of every four will have become pregnant by the age of 20. This averages to about 1400 babies born to teenagers everyday. Of those teens 18-25, 79% are unwed mothers. Research has also shown that for every 1000 pregnancy for women between the ages of 20-24, 622 has resulted in abortion, with repeat abortions at a level of 47%. For these women, single mothers with one child, has a rate of 36% for abortions. While history shows that African-Americana are anti-abortion, this rise in abortion leads one to believe that there may be a loss for what was once a strong religious community. Many African American women may believe that abortion is a sin. Being faced with such a decision as abortion may afterwards feel alienated from God, which may result in their disaffiliation from churches, or other religious affiliations. The issues of African-American single mothers 18-25 extend far beyond the rate of teenage pregnancy, a disturbing issue is that 68% of these women have had sexual intercourse by the age of 18, were molested and impregnated by men with an average age of 27 years old. These single mothers are also faced with a high number of sexually transmitted diseases during this age bracket. Statistically showing that one out of every four women has had gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and herpes. There appears to be a great need for education within this age group. African American single mothers are plagued with issues that need to be addressed. Although in recent years the number of teenage ...