Introduction
In recent years, both in the USA and in European countries, the number of pregnant women among minors has been increasing due to a decrease in the age of sexual debut, an increase in sexual activity of adolescents, and their low contraceptive culture. According to the International Family Planning Federation, every year in the world more than 15 million adolescents end up with childbirth (Horii 294).
Although the mass media and educational institutions constantly conduct programs to educate adolescents, the relevance of this topic does not decrease from year to year. In order to systematize the social aspects of teenage pregnancy, this paper analyzes modern data from American and foreign studies, which allows to identify the significance of the social consequences of teenage pregnancy.
Causes of Teenage Pregnancy
In adolescence, physiological changes occur associated with the process of puberty, which play a central role in the formation of a teenager’s personality and are very closely related to the formation of a sense of self-importance and personal identity. The experiences of sexual attraction at this age turn out to be extremely stressful, and sexual activity is distinctly experimental in nature, there is a process of comprehending one’s own bodily functions, playing multiple variants of interaction with peers of one’s own and the opposite sex. Studies of recent decades have recorded the increasing sexual freedom of teenage girls (Garney et al. 32).
However, increasing permissiveness in sexual terms is accompanied by an increase in the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, the number of pregnancies, abortions and illegitimate children. This is due to the fact that, despite the increased sexual activity, most young people have not yet learned how to regularly and responsibly use effective methods of pregnancy prevention.
Concomitant Factors of Physiological Development
Factors such as the acceleration of the growth and development of adolescents compared to previous generations and earlier physical and puberty in modern adolescents contribute to the problem under consideration. In addition, the change in the norms governing the relationship between teenage boys and teenage girls has an impact (Panting et al. 436). Changes in the system of medical and pedagogical measures to educate adolescents about the correct attitude to gender issues also contribute to the problem. Another factor is the presence in a number of modern films, cartoons, television programs, etc. scenes that activate the sphere of attraction in adolescents. One of the consequences of such factors is pregnancy, the outcomes of which are always problematic for teenage girls, both socially and medically: abortions, juvenile motherhood, early marriages, abandonment of a child for a while in children’s homes, and abandonment of a child.
Typical Scenarios
There are several typical scenarios according to which teenage girls enter into their first sexual contact. The result of the first sexual contact in about 20% of cases is an unplanned pregnancy (Garney et al. 34). The first of them is violence: these are violent acts of a sexual nature, most often committed against teenage girls who have victimization traits, mainly girls from socially disadvantaged families who have witnessed domestic violence, or have themselves become victims of abuse (Nepal et al. 678). The second scenario is inert behavior – one of the variants of the first sexual contact, in which the girl submits to her partner in order not to destroy their relationship.
In the case of voluntary consent, sexual contact is a continuation of some period of the relationship, usually short-term. Innovative behavior is also distinguished when a girl consciously initiates sexual relations, independently determining a partner for such a relationship. Another type of typical scenario is beer alcoholism, which is the most common scenario of the first sexual contact. Under the influence of beer, teenage girls become uninhibited, actively offering young people to enter into intimate relationships.
First of all, pregnancy is a physical load on the entire body; the mortality rate of teenage mothers is three times higher than that of first–time mothers in 20-25 years (Panting et al. 429). Children in adolescents, as a rule, are born with insufficient body weight and have a whole complex of pathologies. Teenage pregnancies are always problematic in that girls are often not ready from a physical and psychological point of view for the appearance of a baby, so they often resort to abortion.
Abortion Related-Difficulties
Artificial termination of pregnancy in adolescents is performed with the consent of a parent or guardian. The decision taken by the family and the young pregnant woman to terminate the pregnancy raises problems, when discussing which they usually indicate a high risk of a violation of the ability to motherhood in the future (Garney et al. 35). Much less often they remember that this operation is also a serious mental trauma for many.
Emotional experiences about an abortion can be as difficult for a teenage girl as the birth of a child itself. At the same time, half have depression and other changes in the state of psychological health (Panting et al. 426). Many teenagers are embarrassed to come to an appointment with a gynecologist, because they fear a violation of anonymity, due to their psychological characteristics and insufficient knowledge about the signs of pregnancy, they apply already at a late date, when the decision to terminate is made only if there are special medical instructions.
Very often, young mothers become objects of hatred and violence from relatives even during pregnancy. Fearing their negative, they hide the pregnancy, and, keeping it, also do not go to medical institutions (Horii 310). When the girl personally goes to the doctor in connection with the pregnancy, the doctor must register the pregnancy, inform one of the parents or guardians, inform the internal affairs bodies, and here the important principle of trust and confidentiality is violated.
Difficulties Associated with the Choice to Give Birth
If a young pregnant woman decides to give birth to a child, then she faces a number of problems, including raising a baby, financial difficulties, getting an education and a profession. A young mother is deprived of many opportunities to become an equivalent member of society, she practically falls into conditions of social isolation (Garney et al. 39). The school does not show much participation in the life of the student who gave birth; most often it is here that she faces condemnation and hostility.
An underage mother has nowhere to get labor and professional skills in order to have a job and start feeding her family, and there are too few employers who want to hire a young minor mother. Regardless of how progressive society is, pregnant teenagers and young mothers who are not married are regarded negatively (Horii 312). After birth, they often refuse children, or, without issuing a refusal at the clinic, subsequently neglect their parental duties. Currently, it is necessary to improve state activities in the field of regulation and social support for young mothers, providing financial support from the state at the initial stage. Of course, one should not ignore the prevention of teenage pregnancy in educational institutions and the system of measures for educating adolescents about the correct attitude to this problem.
Conclusion
Therefore, among the social aspects of teenage pregnancy, the factors contributing to the emergence of this problem are accelerating the growth and development of adolescents, changing the norms governing the relationship between adolescent boys and adolescent girls, changing the system of medical and pedagogical measures to educate adolescents about the correct attitude to gender issues. The following types of first sexual contact are distinguished: violence, inert behavior, voluntary consent, innovative behavior and beer alcoholism. Among them, the most common scenario is still the contact that occurred under the influence of alcohol.
The consequence of sexual contacts are pregnancies, the outcomes of which are always problematic for teenage girls, both socially and medically: abortions, early motherhood, early marriages, abandonment of a child in a child’s home, and abandonment of a child. The problem of teenage pregnancy is closely related to the issues of sexual, hygienic and moral education in the family, at school and the level of knowledge on reproductive health issues. In this regard, there is a need to organize the prevention of teenage pregnancy in an educational institution, involving parents, teachers, social educators, medical workers, psychologists and other specialists in prevention programs.
Works Cited
Garney, Whitney et al. “Ecological approaches to teen pregnancy prevention: An examination of evidence-based interventions.” Sage Journal, vol. 20, no. 4, 2018, pp. 30-40.
Horii, Hoko. “Pluralistic legal system, pluralistic human rights: Teenage pregnancy, child marriage and legal institutions in Bali.” The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, vol. 51, no. 3, 2019, pp. 292-319.
Nepal, Samata et al. “Teenage pregnancies in Nepal: The problem status and socio-legal concerns.” Journal of Nepal Medical Association, vol. 56, no. 211, 2018, pp. 678-682.
Panting, Albeny et al. “Potential social risk factors for teenage pregnancy in Sarawak.” Social Sciences & Humanities, vol. 27, no. 1, 2019, pp. 425-441.