The rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States are still high. Despite this, the American media does not pay enough attention to the issue. At the same time, teenage pregnancy can and should be regulated, with the participation of adolescents, their friends, parents, teachers, advocates, health workers, and the media. This paper aims to address the issue of teenage pregnancy in New Jersey and identify the parties that influence young people’s decisions related to sexual behavior.
Teenage Pregnancy in the Media
American CNN journalists write about Tanzania, and Sierra Leone bans for pregnant teenage girls to visit schools, El Salvador teenage raping, immigrant teen’s abortion, and Indian child brides, but pay no attention to US problems. ABC News materials are mostly dated 2016-2017 and earlier, but some of them are notable. The most recent news is dated December 2018, and it is about killing a teenage pregnant girl by her ex-boyfriend.
Also, two ABC News story articles address the topic of young future moms’ and school principals’ relationships; in both cases, schoolmasters behave extremely incorrectly. The director of the Christian school, “Heritage Academy,” Maryland, where Maddie, a 17-year-old, had her classes, forbade her to attend graduation ceremony (Wright & Hawkins, 2017). Therefore, the girl’s parents organized a private party for her on their own. Maddie also received $ 16,000 from a local human rights organization and many gifts for her future child from supporters around the US.
Nonetheless, Maddie was disappointed with the principal’s and teachers’ attitude, as they stopped talking to her and ordered her to sit at the end of the class, separately from other students. This happened after Maddie wrote several letters to the principal and teachers, in which she apologized for upsetting them and asked for forgiveness (Wright & Hawkins, 2017). Parents, and a boyfriend, who studied in college and had a job in a neighboring state, supported Maddie, saying they do not share the views of the school principal. Maddie’s father even decided to leave the school board after the incident. This story allows concluding that although the “Heritage Academy” is a Christian school, its leadership and teachers had demonstrated anti-Christian ethics when it came to school reputation.
In another case, the expectant mother, Hannah Talbert, posted on Instagram photos, which showed her growing belly. The editor Anderson Bonilla selected some for publication in Surveyor, the school’s yearbook (McGraw, 2016). The director of Mount Vernon High School, New York, immediately called both the editor and Hannah and banned the publication. Moreover, a new clause was introduced in the school rules, according to which the editor was deprived of the right to publish images without the principal’s consent (McGraw, 2016).
Hannah was surprised by the director’s reaction, noting that she didn’t want anyone to find her photo provocative. She said, “It’s just skin and just a baby in there… I’m not trying to be provocative. I think it’s because I’m 17” (McGraw, 2016, para. 8). The school administration did not comment on the event; however, journalists suggest that the decision was made out of fear of harming the school’s reputation – just like in the first case.
Aberdeen.com presents two convincing materials on the lack of parents’ attention to their children’s sexuality education, noting that teenagers are more open to dialogue than their parents. There is also an article on the factors that influence the decisions to start a sexual life, where authors note that peers are the greatest influencers of each other’s choices. There is also disturbing material about expectant mothers trying to reduce the weight and size of their unborn children by smoking cigarettes. Besides, there is an article that reveals all the secrets of sexting.
Decision-Making Factors
Since adolescents are part of the society they live in, they are transmitters of its social norms. According to a study conducted through the analysis of social media posts, female teens who violate social standards often face bullying, shaming, and stigma (Barker, Subramanian, Selman, & Austin, 2019). Common arguments against teenage pregnancy range from potential socioeconomic harms to “life-course rationales that view adolescence as a special, carefree period in life” (Barker et al., 2019, para. 4). Scientists conclude that health workers should change preventing teenage pregnancy strategies, which provoke condemnation of pregnant young women.
The good news is that parents and friends influence the opinions of teenagers more than society does. According to the study, parents’ and friends’ advice to delay sex and use contraception was associated with lower sexual intentions and higher levels of contraception use (Donoghue et al., 2017). Scientists also emphasize that peers have a more significant impact on teenagers than parents. The possibility of an open dialogue with teenagers seems to be extremely important since individuals usually make wrong decisions being isolated or under pressure.
However, while parents and peers are interested in the well-being of a teenager, the media may have mercantile goals. Scientists assume that it is important to help viewers understand “how the media influences their beliefs and behaviors in dating and sexual relationships” (Rodenhizer, Siller, MacPherson, & Edwards, 2019, para. 1). This conclusion bases on the results of a study of college women’s perceptions of Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant / Teen Mom and dating violence attitudes and behaviors.
Most participants believed that Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant / Teen Mom depicted dating violence. Scientists also found that dating violence commital related to opinions that the Jersey Shore was a fun show to watch (Rodenhizer et al., 2019). Moreover, encouraging views toward dating violence were inversely related to opinions that Jersey Shore was abusive. Scientists did not conclude that these shows contributed to the promotion of dating violence, but the results of the study show they did.
Teenage Pregnancy Related Laws
Parental involvement (PI) laws are a controversial issue; still, it should be discussed. Recently, scientists revised evidence that PI laws do not affect teenage decisions on sexual behavior. They found that PI laws may “increase in the probability that sexually active minor teen females use birth control” (Sabia & Anderson, 2016, p. 55). To date, thirty-six states apply laws that require a teenager to notify or obtain the consent of one or both parents to terminate a pregnancy (“Abortion and parental involvement,” 2019).
However, advocates managed to convince the Supreme Court to amend the laws and protect the interests of teenagers. According to the latest amendment, parents cannot veto their child’s decision on abortion. On the other side, these laws are urging adolescents to tell parents about their problems and get their support (“Abortion and parental involvement,” 2019). In this regard, human rights activists emphasize that if teenagers are not sure if they can trust their parents, they should contact a qualified healthcare provider.
Teen Prevention Education Program in New Jersey High Schools
The Teen Prevention Education Program (PEP), which operated in New Jersey and North Carolina High Schools, should also be discussed. Throughout the course, 11th and 12th-graders delivered workshops on sexual health topics to 9th-grade students (Rotz et al., 2016). Participants were selected through an application process to serve as peer educators and trained by the faculty advisors. The goal of educating program included reducing teen pregnancy and transmission of HIV / AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The program statistics showed slight changes in perceptions of birth control, having sex at current age, being pregnant, or got someone pregnant, and changes in intentions of having sex and using contraception. The issues of decision-making – refusal skills, thoughtfulness, visiting clinic for STI-testing – and PEP-communication cases, like speaking to a healthcare practitioner, were discussed in the workshops (Rotz et al., 2016). There is also information that three school medical centers were organized recently in three public schools in New Jersey (Howe, 2019). However, scientists do not provide information about the work of the center’s staff regarding teenage pregnancy.
Thus, the issue of teenage pregnancy in New Jersey was discussed. Two revealing stories of schoolgirls from neighboring states – Maryland and New York presented a comprehensive view on schoolchildren and teachers’ relations. To summarize it, peers, parents, society, the media, and laws all have considerable influence on teenager’s decisions about sexual behavior. Teen PEP program launched in New Jersey and North Carolina High Schools deserves special attention, as a highly beneficial project which has already shown its first results.
References
Abortion and parental involvement laws. (2019). Web.
Barker, K. M., Subramanian, S. V., Selman, R., & Austin, S. B. (2019). Gender perspectives on social norms surrounding teen pregnancy: A thematic analysis of social media data. JMIR Paediatrics and Parenting, 2(2), e13936.
Donoghue, C., Bonillas, C., Moreno, J., Cardoza, O., & Cheung, M. (2017). Young people’s perceptions of advice about sexual risk-taking. Sex Education, 17(1), 73-85.
Howe, J. (2019). The implementation and operation of three school-based health centers in New Jersey. Web.
McGraw, M. (2016). Teen mom photos cause controversy at high school. ABC News. Web.
Rodenhizer, K. A. E., Siller, L., MacPherson, A. R., & Edwards, K. M. (2019). Reality check! Perceptions of MTV’s Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom and dating violence attitudes and experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
Rotz, D., Goesling, B., Crofton, M., Trenholm, C., Manlove, J., & Welti, K. (2016). Interim impacts of Teen PEP in New Jersey and North Carolina High Schools (No. 74b7aa859c364d8c920644a131a769f8). Mathematica Policy Research.
Sabia, J. J., & Anderson, D. M. (2016). The effect of parental involvement laws on teen birth control use. Journal of Health Economics, 45, 55-62.
Wright, D., & Hawkins, S. (2017). A pregnant teen in a class by herself. ABC News. Web.