Teenage Pregnancy
...t by the lack of financial security. Not having enough money to take an infant to the doctor as often as needed can also hurt a child’s health. Not only are the children of teen mothers more likely to grow up in poverty, but also are more at risk of poor parenting. Many teenagers simply aren’t prepared to handle this kind of responsibility. They might lack the skills to properly care for an infant who needs constant care. Abuse isn’t uncommon among teen mothers today. One study found that children of teen mothers are more than twice as likely to experience abuse compared to children of older mothers. In all the information on children of teen mothers, there wasn’t any evidence of these children benefiting in any way from such young mothers. It seems to only harm a child, but in many different ways. Unintended teen pregnancies are also hard on society in general. Every year teen mothers give birth to nearly half a million children in the US alone. As discussed above, almost half of this number will need government aid. The federal government spends about $40 billion annually to help families that have begun with a teenage birth. This is an enormous amount of money that is expected to increase by more than 2 million by 2010. Many young mothers might think that this money is readily available since it is such a large number, but this isn’t the case. Even when it can be easily obtained, it still is a very small amount each month. The causes of such high teenage pregnancy rates in the United States are mostly unknown. Most sexually active teens even use contraceptives (about three-quarters). So why is it such a problem here compared to other western industrialized nations? One theory is that anomie is the cause of this deviance. According to Greer Litton Fox, “the most effective form of social control is the internalization of the values and norms of appropriate behavior that encourages an individual to want to do what he must do” (106). This is almost what always determines a person’s behavior in a normal situation. Anomie is a term made famous by Emile Durkheim. It refers to both an individual psychological state and the condition of a society as a whole. The anomic society is an unstable society whose values and standards have broken down. Anomie is manifest at the individual level by a sense of personal unrest, alienation, and the uncertainty that comes from lack of purpose or ideals (Orru, 1987). In this paper, this concept of anomie will be used to try and explain the massive problem of teen pregnancy. The family is only one institution that is experiencing anomie, but maybe one of the best sources to explain sexual activity in teens. On many occasions it has been shown that teenagers who have strong emotional ties to their parents are much less likely to become sexually active at an early age. More specifically, the mother-daughter bond has a greater impact on this finding. According to Fox, “the absence of a solid bond between mothers and daughters was found in several studies of sexually active and pregnant adolescents” (105). Researchers don’t have an explanation for this, but it can be assumed that the weak bond between mother and daughter give the daughter a feeling of hopelessness that is a part of anomie. This ambivalent relationship most likely is lacking any kind of real communication. Without proper guidance or weak values taught by the mother, a teen has a sense of “normlessness” that would result in sexual activity. Studies also show that teen mothers have a tendency to come from families where support or supervision from their parents is poor. This affects their children by doing poorly in school, caring little about education, and having “low expectations for their futures” (NCPTP). Family strength and communication obviously play a large part in keeping adolescents away from being deviant. Religion seems to play an integral part in preventing sexual activity in teens. Studies have shown that religious beliefs, along with moral values, are the primary reason that teenage girls who have never had intercourse give for abstaining from sex. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, in a survey of 502 teens, “almost 40 percent of teen-agers said that ‘morals, values and/or religious beliefs’ were the most important factor affecting their decision about whether to have sex.” This suggests that religion gives teens a feeling of community in which values are frequently discussed and encouraged. The absence of anomie allows these teens to stay “on track” since they feel hope for the future because of their shared values with this community. This seems to be true even for teenagers who don’t attend religious services regularly. Twenty-six percent of the surveyed teens said that “morals, values, and religion” were the main reasons they abstained from sex. However, once religious teens do have sex, they are less likely to use contraception (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy). The factors that increase the likelihood of pregnancy in teens show a strong link between anomie and teen sexual activity. It is a commonly known fact that “youths at greatest risk are more likely to live in areas with high poverty rates, low levels of education, high residential turnover, and high divorce rates” (The Scope of the Teen Pregnancy Problem). All of these factors are perfect examples of anomie in today’s society. Normlessness is a by-product of the list mentioned above. This creates a hopeless feeling about the future for adolescents growing up in these kinds of environments. Teens then, either don’t care about following the norms or don’t necessarily know what norms to follow. Clearly, teen pregnancy prevention starts with sex education, although, most teens in the United States are quite knowledgeable about the subject. This is another good example that anomie can be blamed for this widespread dilemma. Peter Scales recognizes this factor in the book, Teenage Pregnancy in a Family Context. After evaluating many programs that are meant to prevent teen pregnancy, he has come up with some “characteristics of successful programs” that look beyond the standard concept of sex education. Scales believes that sex education programs work best when parents, teens, and community leaders are involved in helping to support such programs. Also, parent participation is encouraged. This helps to develop communication skills and lessen feelings of anomie, which can be felt in weak family relationships. The “curriculum content” of sex education programs should not focus on contraception alone. Scales considers “approaching the topic of sex education broadly in the context of human growth, development, and relationships” (236). This helps teenagers to think about their values and how this should affect their decision-making in terms of sexual activity. Finally, Scales suggests that teachers should be trained to educate teens about responsible decision-making when in comes to sex. This will allow parents to feel confident in a school’s sex education program and allow teens to feel they can trust this person. Many people feel that the government’s role in educating teens about sex is as important as a parent’s role. According to Scales, “the federal role should be one of providing leadership, information, and coordination to those at the state and community leve...