Risks Teens Take
...which may make it harder for her to develop stable adult relationships when she is no longer an adolescent. Self esteem can be affected by pre-mature sex as well. Young women risk becoming pregnant at an early age when they are still growing. Young men risk catching an STD that may never go away, such as HIV/AIDS, HPV and herpes. Although it seems that it is culturally more acceptable for a young man to be curious about sex and engage in casual sexual relationships, than it is for young women. Many schools have governmentally funded sex education programs. While these programs can be really effective in detouring a teen from having sex, there are always those people who would prefer to learn the lessons in a hands on way, such as, through their peers and own experiences with sex. Risky behaviors in sex may result in a terrible STD, such as herpes, HIV/AIDS, HPV, Syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, not to mention crabs. HPV, (genital warts) can lie dormant with no symptoms. When men contract HPV there is often not very much visual or physical evidence that they have it, therefore, it can be contracted to all of his female partners with no knowledge. Even with females it is very hard to detect HPV. HPV is a known cause of cervical cancer. Early detection of HPV can prevent cervical cancer from forming. Herpes is a virus much like a cold sore, but blisters usually shows up on the genitalia or where there has been skin to skin contact with an infected blister. Herpes is a painful and grotesque disease. There are medications that can help prevent break outs, but there is no known cure for herpes. HIV/AIDS are much more serious diseases that can eventually kill you. HIV is an early stage of AIDS. Basically, when you contract HIV, your immune system attacks itself and eventually you are unable to fight off any viruses or illnesses because your immune system is working so hard against itself. Even the common cold or flu can be a threat to a person who’s immune system has been attacked by itself. Syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia are serious STD’s that undetected, can cause a lot of reproductive harm, usually they are treated with antibiotics. Crabs are little parasites that live in the pubic hair and cause a lot of itching. When teenagers are faced with the decision to have unprotected sex, they may not realize that there may be terrible consequences. This may be due to the invincibility fable that is a teenagers false belief that engaging in risky behaviors can’t hurt them. Becoming pregnant is not a risk that young men face. For young women, becoming pregnant can change the course of their lives. Once an adolescent girl has become pregnant she has a choice to make. No matter what decision she makes, there is no way that it could be right. Whether she decides to have a baby or get an abortion the consequences of both are life long. Pregnant teens face a decreased chance of marriage. Not that being single is so bad, but unmarried mothers usually have a more difficult time providing adequate care for their children, because all of the weight and parental roles of the family lye in their hands. Financial stability can be a hard thing for an uneducated, unmarried mother to attain because her financial resources are limited. A teen mom who is uneducated may be neglectful by default, because she does not know any better. Sometimes when a young women becomes pregnant, her peers or family may shun her. An authoritarian or highly religious family is a good example of a family structure that may not allow the flexibility for a young women to become pregnant. Often times when young women in these family settings become pregnant, they are kicked out of their house and/or sent away to a facility like a half way home. If a young women decides to abort the child that is growing inside of them they face a social stigma and may suffer long term reproductive harm that can prevent them from having a child in the future. The emotional effects of an abortion include guilt, depression and regret. I think that women naturally have a connection to the future child that is in their womb. A women can suffer from an abortion emotionally for the...