illegitimacy
...extramarital coital experience by age of nineteen (De Fleur & Scott, 1973, p. 518). With regard to the lack of sound moral and religious conditions, the sanctity of marriage and virginity are always the main issues. A mother and a father bonded by the sanctity of heterosexual marriage and serving as role models constitute a child geared towards the goal of socialization in a society were sex differences are given much weight and where clear distinctions are made between a male and a female (Crapo, 1990, p. 156). The early separation of a husband and wife or the early dissolution of their marriage would pose a threat in the child’s developing years and would give the child a degrading mark of being an illegitimate. In the issue of virginity, since the sexual tensions of adolescents are high, there is a great tendency that a woman may lose her virginity in a date. Before, virginity was such an issue especially to women. They had to be a virgin until they are married. As for males, they were not so concerned about it, although there were religious norms also imposing that they should retain their virginity until the time of their marriage (De Fleur & Scott, 1973, p. 531). However, the advent of modernization and leniency in sexual practice has paved its way for pre-marital sex, which is a sexual moral issue confronting college students. Sexual temptations certainly exist in high school. But once in college, students are more cut off from family restrictions. Students fall into promiscuous behavior without even realizing how far they have fallen. Before they know it, a baby is conceived. When this so happens, in unfortunate cases, the abandonment of their respective boyfriends follows. This leaves teenage mother to fend for themselves and the baby. This unwed pregnancy gives rise to children raised in households headed by only a single parent. As emphasized by Giele (1978), “pregnancy and unwed motherhood can have costly effects for a woman’s later life by foreshortening her education and work experience” (p. 149). The effects of illegitimacy on the illegitimate children include issues, which are subjected to many social influences. These children suffer a lot not just physically but also emotionally and socially. Most of the time, they place the blame of the situation on themselves when in truth, they are just victims of circumstances. But through time, in some cases, these illegitimates strive to prove themselves that their being illegitimate is not a hindrance in developing potentials and taking their stand as dignified citizens of the country. Generally, majority of us do not consider the physical effects of illegitimacy. What we do not know is that illegitimate children may also suffer from physical handicaps, which are caused by unsuccessful abortion (Macionis, 1993, p. 411). Moreover, illegitimate pregnancies usually result in stillbirths and infant mortalities. Children born illegitimate have a higher risk of pre-maturity or even death. Studies conducted by National Census and Statistics Office reveal that unmarried mothers receive less pre-natal care with more complications arising during the period of pregnancy than married mothers. Other than that, some medical benefits do not cover illegitimate children of Medicare members. Still, it should be noted that the effects of illegitimacy does not only end in the physical aspects because it also includes the emotional and social aspects. Alcoholism, mental illness, unemployability, reject and neglect, to name a few, are some emotional consequences experienced by children brought up in any kind of parental failing (Toby, 1971, p. 120). Illegitimacy places enough evidences that deteriorating family relationships in these modern generations administer disintegration among family values. Since illegitimate children usually belong to broken homes, they often would resort to vices contributing to the lessening of their self-worth. This is only one example of the many disturbing effects attributed to cases wherein families are spear-headed by single parents. Juvenile delinquency, to add, is another example where most studies can attest that is happens more on the child brought up by single parents than those with both the father and the mother (Zanden, 1988, p. 364). This only goes to show that aside from the fact that they carry the mark of their status, illegitimates also become subjected to countless prejudice because of their undesirable doings. Illegitimacy may affect the interpersonal relationships of the individuals concerned. They may have low self-esteem, fear of rejection, and insecurities (Shepard, 1999, p. 299). The illegitimates’ self-esteem and confidence are undeniably affected. Ms. Lucida Salcedo and the others b...