Research Paper
Anthony Murphy
RES/110
June 22, 2010
Gregory VD Smith
Adolescent Pregnancy
In this research paper I will explore the effects of adolescent pregnancy, prevention, and
intervention of adolescent pregnancy on American society. The notion that education,
abstinence, and parental involvement are vital in the reduction of adolescent pregnancies is
the thesis of this paper. The research supports this thesis; prevention and intervention have
contributed to the progress in reducing adolescent pregnancy over the last decade.
There are numerous pressures in American society, a majority of these are directed toward
teenagers. A result of these pressures placed on these adolescent teens, is the failure to
make right decisions in certain situations. The most frequent situations adolescence teens
find him or herself in is becoming a parent at a young age because of stress to have sex. In
the United States more than 40% of women become pregnant before they are 20 years old,
and 50% of teenage pregnancies occur within the first six months of their initial
intercourse experience (Dangal, 2006). According to a recent study by the Alan
Guttmacher Institute, the United States has made strong progress in reducing teen
pregnancy and birth rates, the teen pregnancy rate in the United States is still the highest
among comparable countries. The United States adolescent birthrate exceeds that of most
other western countries, even though American teenagers are no more sexually active than
teenagers are in Canada or Europe (Dangal, 2005). Recent statistics concerning the teen
birthrates are alarming. The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the
western world with approximately one million adolescents becoming pregnant every year
(National Womens Health Information Center). Almost one-sixth of all births in the United
States are to teenage women. Although pregnancy may occur in any teenager, some teens
are at higher risk for unplanned pregnancy than others. There are many risk factors to
adolescent pregnancy, these include factors in the community and the family such as
parents”€™ lack of education, family marital disruption, lack of parental support, violent
crime, unemployment, poor child rearing practice, poverty, and inappropriate sexual
pressure or abuse. According to a 2004 study, eliminating exposure to abuse, violence, and
family strife could prevent one-third of teenage pregnancies. As well as community and
the family factors there are individual factors that increase the risk of adolescent
pregnancy, a few of these individual factors are lack of religious affiliation, drug and
alcohol use, engaging in hazardous behaviors, criminal behavior, poor educational
