...Risky Adolescent Sexual Behavior: The Lack of Parental Supervision and Family Structure At the brink of the twenty-first century, some of the most controversial social issues come from the lack of parental supervision and family structure in the home; some of these issues include teenage pregnancy, statutory rape and the possibility of engaging in sexual activities that result in catching one or more sexually transmitted diseases. One might have a belief that engaging in sexual activity at a young age or before marriage is an immoral act. However, when adolescents grow up by themselves, they struggle to learn a normal sense of morality. Thus, lack of parental supervision and family structure in the home has a negative effect on adolescent sexual behavior. Social norms are the criteria that are used in today’s society in order to differentiate between right from wrong and what is considered normal and what is considered simply absurd. One of the “social norms” that society looks upon as abnormal is the lack of parental supervision and family structure in the home. People in this society tend to insinuate that parents should teach their children right from wrong, as they develop into young adults entering into the “real world”. Sexual Intercourse is natural and usually occurs in every person’s lifetime; however, when there is a lack of supervision and family structure in the home an adolescent’s sexual behavior begins to go astray. Rex Forehand, et al.(1999) states in the article...
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...family members is disruptive to the family’s environment and structure. It is especially destructive to an individual’s life because without communication, the individual is left with no support and clarity of his/ her social surroundings. The field of communication offers knowledge and understanding between family members and individuals. Family communication is the foundation that strengthens family interaction. Lack of communication affects behaviors and attitudes. Young people who reported feeling a lack of parental warmth, love, or caring were also more likely to report emotional distress, lower self-esteem, school problems, drug use, and sexual risk behaviors. In addition, weak family relationships fail to provide the emotional support that teenagers require. This lack of attention and affection from family resulting in depression forces them to seek love and support from other people, especially members of the opposite sex (Speedy Remedies, 2010) Parental guidance According to Cummins, J. (2016) lack of...
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...The Influences Surrounding Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet are two young teenagers whose decisions are influenced by the way they were raised. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the children of two contradicting families fall in love and get married in the matter of a few days. The parents of Juliet make an impact on her behavioral decisions because their parenting styles affects her future actions. The lack of parental monitoring on Romeo and Juliet is an important factor to their decision making because without parental supervision, they are more likely to make poor choices. Parents also impact their child’s sexual life because having a weak parent-child relationship influences their sexual behavior. The behavior...
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...head: MORE THAN HORMONES Teen Pregnancy: More Than Just Raging Hormones Amberette Kennard Psychology 101 Professor Greg Harmling 05/10/2011 Teen Pregnancy: More Than Just Raging Hormones A young girl gets ready to leave for school. She brushes her teeth, combs her hair and picks out an outfit. She gets dressed and takes one final look in the mirror before heading out. She stares at her midsection, anxiously trying to adjust her shirt. It’s getting harder and harder to hide…soon everyone will know... Despite a one-third decline since the early 1990s, the United States still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth among comparable countries. In 2008, the U.S. teen birth rate was 41.5 births per 1,000 girls age 15-19. By way of comparison, the U.S. teen birth rate is nearly two times higher than the United Kingdom (26.7 per 1,000). (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2010) Teen pregnancy has been the leading topic of many U.S. talk shows, news programs, documentaries, and movies. Its appearance in so many mediums demonstrates that there is a fascination with and strong desire to understand the problem of teen pregnancy in the United States and the constant search for a solution. There have been many studies on the physical causes of teen pregnancy such as rising hormone levels, the adolescent brain’s transition, and more. Although there has been some...
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...dress and act when around certain people. Love relationships just make it even harder for a teenager to get a good education. Some start to fail in school because they are hanging out with their boyfriend or girlfriend instead of doing their work. Throughout adolescence, teenagers are positively and negatively impacted by several relationships such as friends, family, and love relationships. Friends have a big influence on teenagers because they can say and do many of things to teenagers who think they were friends. They also start rumors and take their friends girlfriend or boyfriend and have them cheat on their friend. Some go out to drink, smoke, or to do drugs just to have fun but some think of driving home and most teenagers do not even make it to their driveways. Some teenagers who are so depressed about their social problems even think about committing suicide. Most start to hurt others turn into “goth’s” by dressing in all black. Many of depressed people show how they feel by dressing differently by acting out and hurting others in school. Parents have a big influence on teenagers because their children look up to them and 90% of them grow up to act and do things just like their parents did with them. Teenagers who have parents that are in jail, or do drugs do not always have a good education or a household. “Children who have experienced a family break-up may have lower...
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...Teen Pregnancy Sabrina Marbury COM 172 June 19, 2012 Jessie Creech Teen Pregnancy In the United States more than one million teenage girls become pregnant every year (Plotnick, 1997). Only 13% of those pregnancies are intended (Plotnick, 1997). Teen Pregnancy has been defined as a teenaged or under aged girl becoming pregnant. Getting pregnant as a teenager gives her a higher risk of running into social aspects and economical issues that surround today’s teenage parents. Teens today are not educated the way they should be on safe sex or teen pregnancy. There are some consequences, big decisions, and great responsibilities a teen has to face once she is pregnant. Most girls seem not to care about being pregnant and overlook the matter that they are carrying a human being. Having a baby at a young age affects the life of the teen as well as the life of the child. Teen pregnancy has been a major concern in society today because of the lack of education and guidance teens have about safe sex and also the effects it brings upon the child and the mother. One main cause of teen pregnancy is the lack of education ("Lack of Parental Guidance," 2004). The lack of education on safe sex is a cause of teenage pregnancy, whether it is from parents, school, or a friend ("Lack of Parental Guidance," 2004). Teenagers with less education about sex and teen pregnancy are more likely to have an unintended pregnancy. Some teenagers chose not to discuss sex with parents because they feel...
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...BABY THESIS It's the poster characteristic of the teenager years: adolescent rebellion. And it's one that causes many conflicts with parents. Two common types of rebellion are against socially fitting in (rebellion of non-conformity) and against adult authority (rebellion of non-compliance.) In both types, rebellion attracts adult attention by offending it. The young person proudly asserts individuality from what parents like or independence of what parents want and in each case succeeds in provoking their disapproval. This is why rebellion, which is simply behavior that deliberately opposes the ruling norms or powers that be, has been given a good name by adolescents and a bad one by adults. The reason why parents usually dislike adolescent rebellion is not only that it creates more resistance to their job of providing structure, guidance, and supervision, but because rebellion can lead to serious kinds of harm. Rebellion can cause young people to rebel against their own self-interests -- rejecting childhood interests, activities, and relationships that often support self-esteem. It can cause them to engage in self-defeating and self-destructive behavior - refusing to do school work or even physically hurting themselves. It can cause them to experiment with high-risk excitement - accepting dares that as a children they would have refused. It can cause them to reject safe rules and restraints - letting impulse overrule judgment to dangerous effect. And it...
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...is a particularly important period during the life cycle, except: A. adolescence is the time when erotic feelings first emerge. B. puberty brings on physical changes that allow for sexual reproduction. C. cognitive changes in adolescence have a major impact on sexuality. D. it is not until adolescence that sexual activity begins to take on the social meaning it will continue to have throughout adulthood. Answer: A 2. Sex play that is innocuous during childhood is no longer innocuous during adolescence because: A. children report erotic feelings before puberty. B. the hormonal changes of puberty result in an increased sex drive in adolescence. C. children are not capable of kissing, petting, masturbating, or sexual intercourse before puberty. D. with puberty, pregnancy becomes a serious possibility. Answer: D 3. Which of the following is not considered an aspect of positive sexual development that adolescents face? A. becoming comfortable with one’s maturing body B. reconciling feelings of sexual arousal with one’s religious beliefs C. feeling comfortable in choosing to engage or not to engage in sexual activity D. understanding and practicing safe sex Answer: B 4. “Sexual socialization” refers to: A. a person’s sexual orientation. B. a person’s social skills in sexual relationships. C. the way in which an individual is educated about sexuality. D. the degree to which an individual is comfortable with his or her sexuality. Answer: C 5. On...
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...Life Arts Project High Risk: Teens and risky sexual behavior Jamileth Powell College of New Rochelle Fall 2013 Children at Risk Evelyn Philippe The present topic is to explore the depths of high risk teenagers and risky sexual behavior. My inspiration for this project comes from my cousin personal experience with becoming pregnant of an early age young age due to her promiscuous behavior. My topic relates to the course content in terms of children at risk throughout my life arts project work I will provide an overview of research pertaining to adolescent's decision making, early sexual activity, and other risky behaviors, as well as describing the roles of parent and school on what they need in assisting teens in avoiding life altering decisions. The method that I will use is "How open are you" questionnaire that will pertain to my peers of which many are parents on how open are they in talking to their teens about sexual activity as well, as literature review. In my oral presentation, I will present my findings. The term risky behavior is almost always used in a sexual sense, implying behaviors and actions that increase the chance of contracting or transmitting disease, and the increase the chance of the occurrence of unwanted pregnancy. In today's society, sexual activity has become more prevalent amongst teenagers. This social issue has been argued by many, of the contributing factors that would cause teens to engage in sexual behaviors. The factors that contribute...
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...Teen pregnancies in the Philippines By Rebecca B. Singson Philippine Daily Inquirer Filed Under: People, Lifestyle & Leisure MANILA, Philippines—The sexual revolution has ushered in a period in which the average adolescent experiences tremendous pressures to have sexual experiences of all kinds. Filipino teens get a higher exposure to sex from the Internet, magazines, TV shows, movies and other media than decades ago, yet without any corresponding increase in information on how to handle the input. So kids are pretty much left to other kids for opinions and value formation when it comes to sex. Sexual misinformation is therefore equally shared in the group. Parents at home and teachers in school feel equally inadequate or uneasy to discuss the topic of sex with youngsters. The problem mounts because the barkada (gang) has a more profound influence than parents do and they exert pressure and expect the adolescent to conform to the rest of them. In fact, female adolescents whose friends engage in sexual behavior were found to be more likely to do the same compared to those who do not associate with such peers. If the teen perceives her peers to look negatively at premarital sex, she was more likely to start sex at a later age. Numbers Statistics in the United States show that each year, almost 1 million teenage women—10 percent of all women aged 15-19 and 19 percent of those who have had sexual intercourse—become pregnant and onefourth of teenage mothers have a second child within...
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...rural areas is teen pregnancy. A peer-reviewed research paper published by The Journal for Nurse Practitioners entitled “Who Will Listen? Rural Teen Pregnancy Reflections.” There are both medical and social concerns that occur with teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy statistic shows that teen mothers give birth to premature babies with low birth weight. The social aspect is teen mothers do not complete high school and lives in poverty. These situations rank high in abuse and neglect with teen parents. Definition of the Problem Rural areas show the highest rate of teen pregnancy compared to state rates, which produces a problem that researchers are questioning why this rate is higher in the rural areas. The Theory of Adolescent Sexual Decision Making (TASDM) is the basis this research was conducted to resolve. This theory has two main objectives that include the risk-promoting environments teens experience and exposure to risky situation that create the situations teens use to justify sexual behavior (Weiss, 2012). The problem with teen pregnancy produces premature birth and low birth weight in the babies. A medical problem with teen pregnancy is the medical expenses incurred with both teenager and infant. These statistics indicate that teen pregnancy result from family with no insurance and no means to pay the medical expenses teen pregnancy incurs. The social problem teen pregnancy presents are that teen mothers tend not finish high school. Teen pregnancy results...
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...April 29, 2011 Preventing Unplanned Teen Pregnancies is Possible and Valuable One of the largest drains on our society is the cost associated with unplanned pregnancies, especially those in teenagers. With the proper implementation of preventative programs, these costs could be lower or alleviated all together. While the United States teen pregnancy rate fell in 2009, it was calculated in a 2006 report by Saul Hoffman, that teen childbearing cost taxpayers at least $9.1 billion (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy). Preventative programs along with parents and adults having open conversations with teens about these newly famous reality mothers could go a long way to help stop teen pregnancy. States spend a huge amount of money every year due to unplanned pregnancies. Some of the costs that add up due to these pregnancies are a result of the use of welfare programs, judicial systems and health care (Foreman). Federal money is available for states to improve existing programs and create new ones; each state is responsible for applying for these funds. Some of these funds require a state to match, while some does not. Unfortunately not all states are taking advantage of these opportunities. It is imperative that states take this opportunity to request these funds, to implement programs which can lower the bottom line on the cost of unplanned pregnancies. There are a variety of grants available which could focus on almost every philosophy,...
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...Teen Pregnancy—A Social Issue After researching various statistics, I found that premarital pregnancy is quite prevalent in teenagers throughout the world. Teen pregnancy is one of the most difficult experiences a young person might ever face when it interrupts school or other plans. It can create an emotional crisis resulting in feelings of shame and fear, and it may appear that you will crumble under pressures in your environment. The stress of how one would break the news to their parents might be even greater, and finding help may seem an impossible task. People might think that they can help others, or one might be too embarrassed to search for help. For the most part, when one sees teenagers raising children, we often think that the teen has been raped or is too mature for their age. For this reason, some totally miss the issues that one must have been exposed to in their society, the society of their home, community, school. There are many viewpoints as to why teenage females are having so many children out of wedlock. However, the facts are obvious—teenaged females are highly influenced by many social issues, but those with the lack of strong parental guidance, sex education, and positive mass media are more likely to have a premarital pregnancy. As one travels the globe, they will find that industrialized and developing countries have distinctly different rates of teenage pregnancy. In the online article, “Teen Pregnancy on the Rise,” Sipokazi Maposa says that in developed...
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...The Most Effective Form of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention There is an imperative issue surrounding adolescents and young adults today in Texas. This urgent problem involves infection rates of sexually transmitted diseases, commonly called STDs. This subject proposes a valid question: What do need to do to stop or at least reduce this problem? This problem is not centralized just within the state of Texas, but also as a nation. Many federal and state officials have tried solving this issue. There is no argument to say there has not been an effort placed to solve this issue. Although there is cohesion in the attempt to resolve this conflict, there is disagreement to find the best way to deal with this issue. The argument surrounding the most effective way to reduce STD infection rate has involved government officials, school officials, health officials, religious figures, and parents. Many people ask where the real controversy on this issue is. For a simple question, there is not a simple answer. The disagreement rises from whether abstinence only should be taught or a comprehensive sex education program that teaches the consequences of sexual activity. Some people believe abstinence is the most effective method to help the STD infection rate become reduced. Other critics feel that a comprehensive sex program is the best method. Just like an onion the topic of sex education has many layers. The debate against sex education has another level involving who should be...
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...problems. Such social problems can be found at the local, state, national and international levels. There are many social problems that teenagers go threw. Drugs and Teenagers Drug use is the increasing problem among teenagers in today’s high schools. Most drug use begins in the preteen and teenage years, these years most crucial in the maturation process. During these years adolescents are faced with difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, and there us a temptation to escape from conflicts. The use of drugs by teenagers is the result of a combination of factors such as peer pressure, curiosity, and availability. Drugs addiction among adolescents in turn leads to depression and suicide. One of the most important reasons of teenage drug usage is peer pressure. Peer pressure represents social influences that effect adolescents, it can have a positive or a negative effect, depending on person’s social group and one can...
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