Teen Pregnancy

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Teen Pregnancy

• Ms. Wilson
• 9th Grade ELA
• Bread and Roses High School
• andrine_at_alumni.upenn.edu

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Main Topics

• Why is it an issue?
• Historical Perspective
• Economical Issue
• Background factors
• Effects on Mothers and Their Children
• The Influence of the Media

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Steps to the PPA

• We will use some of the steps we have learned in
  order to assess the problem of Teen Pregnancy.
• Define the problem
• Gather evidence
• Identify causes
• Evaluate a policy
• Develop solutions
• Select best solution
• http//www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ppae1.html

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Why is Teen Pregnancy an Issue?

• Teen pregnancy a crisis over the past 50 years
• society has shifted the moral standards that
  direct sexual behavior.
• increasing rates of sexual activity among
  teenagers, and decreasing rates of marriage.

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Before the Sexual Revolution

• 1950s less than a third of first births to teen
  mothers were conceived out of wedlock.

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After

• 1980s two-thirds of all Caucasian teen mothers
  were unmarried.
• 97 of African American teen mothers were single
  at the time of conception in the 1980s.

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Children having Children

• Approximately 750,000 to 850,000 teenage women,
  ages 15 through 19, become pregnant in the US
  every year.
• 77 of children born to teen parents will receive
  a high school diploma.
• Children of teen mothers more likely to
  experience adolescent childbearing, homelessness,
  juvenile delinquency, and incarceration.

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Economical issues

• Federal government spends approximately 15
  billion to help families that began with a
  teenage birth yearly.
• 80 of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare.

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Background Factors

• Inherited disadvantage
• Family headed by a single parent

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The Reality of Teen Mothers

• increased psychological problems
• lower graduation rates
• inconsistent employment
• reliance on social assistance and welfare
• higher poverty rates
• Increased marital instability
• more frequent health problems

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Media and Celebrities Glamorize Teen Pregnancy

• Teens are bombarded with messages that SEX AND
  PREGNANCY HAVE NO RISKS, AND NO CONSEQUENCES.

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Books with Teen Pregnancy

• Generally more realistic than television shows
  or movies.

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Hanging Onto Max

• Written By Margaret Bechard
• Published by Simon Pulse, 2003
• Focuses on the life of a teenage father
• Central Question Should he give Max up for
  adoption?

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Dont Think Twice

• Written by Ruth Pennebaker
• Published by Henry Holt and Co., 2001
• Main character Anne is forced to live in a group
  home for pregnant teens
• Ultimately gives her child up for adoption

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Borrowed Light

• Written by Anna Fienberg
• Published By Laurel Leaf, 2002
• Main character lives in a dysfunctional family
• Chooses abortion

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Some Public Opinions

• When asked if Young Adult novels that portrayed
  Teen Pregnancy and/or parenting made it look
  glamorous many said no.
• One surveyed student said that after reading one
  of these books she Never wanted to have kids

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Television Movies

• The Glamorization of Teen Pregnancy hidden within
  our television programs and movies.

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Juno (2007)

• Premiered September 8, 2007 by Fox Searchlight
  Pictures
• 16 year old high school student gives her baby
  boy up for adoption to a single adoptive mother.

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More Movies

• 17 Again (2009) Comedy film from New Line
  Cinema.
• Fifteen and Pregnant (1998) Based on a true
  story, by Lifetime Television movies.
• Mom at Sixteen (2005) Lifetime Television
  movies.
• Saved! (2004) Teen comedy film with religious
  satire.
• Where the Heart Is (2000) by 20th Century Fox.

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Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008-2009)

• Premiered on ABC Family on July 1, 2008.
• 15 year old gets pregnant from her first sexual
  encounter. Took place at a school event. She has
  help from multiple people her parents, sister,
  the babys father, her fiancée, and friends.

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More Television

• 90210 (2008-2009) CW spin-off of Beverly Hills,
  90210.
• 16 and Pregnant (2009) MTV Reality Series
• Reba (2001-2007) one of the CWs top rated
  sitcoms.
• One Tree Hill (2003-2009) Aired on the WB, now
  called the CW.

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Celebrities

• A Direct Motivation for Teen Girls to be
  Pregnant

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Society and Celebrities

• Celebrities within a small limited society are an
  easier real text for people to read
• Examples
• local school celebrities
• local sports players
• local dance, or music performers

• Celebrities within a large society are a more
  complicated text, are inaccessible
• Examples
• Nationally known
• Singers
• Actors/actresses

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Media Effect

• Media has many social, economic purposes to keep
  celebrities as they are
• A real example ???
• Jamie Lynn Spears

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Gloucester High School Pregnancy Pact

• A social reflection of how celebrity culture
  might affect real life.
• Several girls decided to get pregnant together,
  influenced by celebrities
• http//www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id4198422nta
  grelatedphotovideo

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Develop Solutions
Spend a few moments now using the template below
to generate some ideas on how the problem of Teen
Pregnancy can be resolved in our communities.
Worksheet5 "Developing public policy
solutions"(HTML)