Teen Pregnancy Essay -- Teenage Mothers

     In the US, teen pregnancy lays have been decreasing in the last decade even though current rates lodge twice as high as those found in other industrialized nations (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1994). In spite of decreasing rates, among African American teenagers, the pregnancy rate is particularly high. In 1996, the pregnancy rate was 178.9 per thousand among African-American females aged 15 to 19 years, compared with a pregnancy rate of 82.6 among whites (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1999). Additionally, on the stem of the findings of the 1995 issue Survey of Family Growth, it was determined that African American females (48%) aged 15 to 17 were more likely than their white (34%) counterparts to have had sexual intercourse since menarche. On the basis of information provide by the National Center for Health Statistics (1997), African-American females aged 15 to 19 were more likely than their white peers to have had their first off sexual experience (i.e., intercourse) with bug out using effective contraception (24% versus 14%, respectively). Consequently, on the basis of such risky behavior, African American teenagers are at great risk than their white peers for experiencing a pregnancy.pregnant, especially if it was with the babys father. A concluded by Harris, most of the mothers believed that sexual intercourse was a behavior they were going to continue to shut up in, regardless of threat of disease or pregnancy. As compared to the adolescent fathers participating in the study, Harris reported that most of the fathers indicated that they were now engaging in protected sex.      environmental Influences     As many have suggested, while engagement in unprotected sexual intercourse at an early age places adolescents at risk for pregnancy, thither are a number of other factors that influence African American teen pregnancy rates. According to Dervarics (2004), African American teen mothers a nd fathers are a good deal represented among the rising number of minority "disconnected" youth in the US. This group is comprised of teens ages 16 to 19 who are both out of school and out of work. Dervarics reported that nearly A quarter of African Americans ages 18 to 19 falls into the disconnected category. As a consequence of being disconnected, as explained by the author, African Amer... ...with poverty. It is these issues that attention must be directed towards in order to reduce teen pregnancy rates.ReferencesAlan Guttmacher Institute. (1994). Sex and Americas teenagers. NY The Alan      Guttmacher Institute.Alan Guttmacher Institute. (1999). Teenage pregnancy Overall trends and state-by-state      information. NY The Alan Guttmacher Institute.Dervarics, C. (2005). Minorities overrepresented among Americas disconnected youth.       universe of discourse Reference Bureau. Found online at       http//www.prb.org/Template.cfm?Section=PRB&template=/ContentManagement     /ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=11335Lardner, J. (2005). Arline Geronimus on teen parenthood. Inequality.Org. Found online      at http//www.inequality.org/teenparenthood.htmlNational Center for Health Statistics. (1997). Fertility, family planning, and womens       health New data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. Hyattsville,      MD National Center for Health Statistics.