Was scheduled to work from 4:30PM-12AM but I had to turn in an essay to turnitin.com at 11:59, not to mention I hadn't done any research or rough draft until today when I came home around 8PM. So proud of myself, did exactly 1250 words and submitted it at exactly 11:59PM. It's still pretty rough and and all but I think I did pretty well for 3 hours and 59 minutes haha! Gotta retake my test at JCCC tomorrow and bringing snickerdoodle cookies to Stacy for covering my ass tonight. She stayed back while I got off at 8PM even though she's been there since 10AM. Poor girly, she definitely deserves those cookies!
Alena Lam
15 November 2013
Dr. Collins
AP American Government
Teen
Pregnancy, a Symptom of Poverty.
News
of a baby is a happy and exciting time for most parents but there is a small
percentage where the news of pregnancy actually frightens them. The minority of
parents who fear parenthood are children themselves. Teen pregnancy is a worldwide
concern whether it is because of unprotected sex, or the portrayal of teenage
parenthood has been twisted to the extent where it is desired by such
television shows as “16 and Pregnant”. No matter what the reason is, little
girls are still getting pregnant. There is much jeopardy linked with being a
pregnant teenager as opposed to becoming pregnant when older. The burden of
becoming a parent early on not only affects the teenage mother but also her
family as well but that does not mean teenage pregnancy causes poverty. Instead
teenage pregnancy is one of the symptoms of poverty. Teen pregnancy stems from poverty
because of the lack of a good education and a sense of unacceptance.
Teenage
mothers are unambiguous and by having a too relaxed mind, lead to intercourse
and unexpected pregnancy. While some adolescent pregnancies were unplanned,
teenage mothers are not indolent by nature. They too wish to have a bright
future with many accomplishments. It is just that in the moment, they get
caught up by hormones and the bleakness of their current status in life. Many
people believe teenage mothers are the consequences of wild teenager girls
having unprotected sex. It is true that sex is practiced more often at a
younger age than in the past but that does not mean girls are becoming more
promiscuous. Awareness of teenagers struggling in poverty is presenting itself
through adolescent pregnancies.
Most
teenage mothers are the product of a lacking environment. A child’s environment
influences their behavior and way of thinking, having the ability to either
nurture the child’s dream or allow it to become dormant and crushed by
reality’s adversities. When the environment or community is unaware of the
difficulties in the child’s efforts to strive, the child reacts to the
unawareness by acting out to obtain attention or to entertain him or herself. There
are many factors as to why they are unmotivated; one of the key reasons is poverty.
Many people mistake poverty as a result of teen pregnancy but it is actually “a
function of poverty and hopelessness” (Reimer) because their environment is at
a “high level of inequality” (Rich). A majority of girls who become teenage
mothers aren’t placed into poverty because of the pregnancy but they became
teenage mothers due to them already being in poverty. Girls from low income
families do not have faith in themselves to become something significant. “Having
children at a young age does not affect” these young ladies because they are
already on a “downward economic trajectory” (Kempner) since about “two-thirds
of teenage mothers” are at the poverty line by “time they give birth.”
(Zimmerman). Their chances of success did not plummet drastically since they
were already deprived of resources needed in shaping their success. They have a
“poorer sense of personal efficacy”, a “more traditional occupational
expectations”, and “lower educational
expectations” (Young) than those from families with higher
incomes. They do not believe they can change their position in life due to
their current financial standing. Teenage pregnancy stems from inequality of
opportunities and unequal income. Other times “the lack of appropriate sex
education” and “limited access to health resources, such as contraception” is
the reason for the unexpected pregnancies (Burdette). The adolescents in
poverty may not have access to the information or contraception provided because
they do not have access to clinics or just don’t know about them. Other times
they are influenced by their “to have sex even when they do not fully
understand the consequences” (Langham). As teenagers, they want to appear
sophisticated and trendy to peers. They do not understand the emotional or
biological aspects that go hand in hand with the act.
Teenage
girls turn to motherhood to get a sense of acceptance. As adolescence, they are
always conscious of themselves and their image in other people’s eyes. When
teenagers feel abandoned and isolated, “loneliness…can breed[s] resentment and
risk-taking” (Hammes). The adolescents feel unneeded, useless. They turn rowdy
and reckless in a sense for attention. Damaging themselves, they lower the
chances to move up the social ladder. Some teenage girls living at the poverty
line or even below do not believe they can compete with the crowd. The “distance
between the very poor” and “those in the middle is the source of the
hopelessness” (Reimer). The idea of hopelessness is not how many people are at
poverty or at wealth. What counts is how large the gap between the two is. The
smaller the gap or more middle people there are, the more confident one is to
be able to move out of poverty and into success. If the young ladies deem their
role in the world useless even when they “play by the rules,” (Hymowitz) then they
will “likely to turn to motherhood…”to find meaning in a world” (Hanes).
Deeming they will fail in society, they turn to cultural norm by going into motherhood
to obtain a sense of value. By being a
mother, they think it will “garner [them] some positive attention…because they
feel they have little chance of advancement," (Reimer). They are giving up
on their own future to sufficient their child’s. They hope by doing so and
exerting their efforts into the child, the child will be able to obtain and
fair off better than the teenage mother.
Teenage
pregnancy does not factor poverty, rather poverty factors teen pregnancy. In
the present of poverty, teenage girls may not have access to contraception or
correct knowledge of intercourse. By being in poverty, the girls already have a
lower chance of success and have a lack of faith in their abilities to strive
to success and move out of poverty. They have low expectations of themselves
and turn to a traditional role. Then again motherhood at an early age does not
impact their success rate significantly since their chances were already low
due to their economical standing. Teenagers are unmotivated by their status and
where they are at in life, believing that their role is insignificant and
worthless. Other times it is a sense of loneliness and isolation that draws the
girls to become mothers, to feel that sense of love, attention, and warmth
which they once felt from their community. They turn to motherhood to fill a
void and have a sense of worth. Other times they are misled by the media,
misguidance by parents who are avoid the topic of intercourse, and peers who
pressure them into sex. Teenage girls shouldn’t just be taught about protected
sex and given statistics about how early pregnancy makes them live in poverty
but rather assist those who are living in poverty. Pull them out of the
darkness and be aware of their dreams and motivate them to obtain their goals.
Making sure the girls are aware of their abilities and being encouraged helps
them stay on track to complete their education, instead of steering off because
they do not believe they can do it. Only when teenage girls are assisted with
their poverty problems and led away from the depths of darkness will children
finally be able to be children again, and the number of teenage pregnancies
will dramatically decrease.
Works
Cited
Burdette, Whitney. "Poverty, Low Education
Attainment Lead to Teen Pregnancy, Study Finds." State Journal.
N.p., 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. <http://www.statejournal.com/story/17258344/poverty-low-education-attainment-lead-to-teen-pregnancy-study-finds>.
Young,
Tamera M.; Martin, Sue S.; Young, Michael E.; Ting, Ling. "INTERNAL
POVERTY AND TEEN PREGNANCY." The
Free Library 22 June 2001. 15 October 2013
<http://www.thefreelibrary.com/INTERNAL POVERTY AND TEEN
PREGNANCY.-a079251799>.
Langham, R. Y. "What Are the Causes of Teenage
Pregnancy?" (n.d.): n. pag. LIVESTRONG.COM. 12 June 2010. Web. 15 Nov.
2013.
Hanes, Stephanie. "Teenage Pregnancy: High US Rates
Due to Poverty, Not Promiscuity." Modern Parenthood. The Christian
Science Monitor, 22 May 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/Modern-Parenthood/2012/0522/Teenage-pregnancy-High-US-rates-due-to-poverty-not-promiscuity>.
Hymowitz, Kay S. "Poor Girls Aren't Condemned to
Pregnancy, Poverty." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 May 2012. Web. 14
Nov. 2013.
<http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/24/opinion/hymowitz-teen-pregnancy-poverty/index.html>.
Hammes, Mary J. "Sex Education, Poverty & Teen
Pregnancy." (n.d.): n. pag. Baby Gooroo. 08 Jan. 2013. Web. 14 Nov.
2013.
<http://babygooroo.com/2013/01/sex-education-poverty-teen-pregnancy/>.
Kempner, Martha. "Poverty Causes Teen Parenting, Not
the Other Way Around." RH Reality Check. N.p., 29 Apr. 2013. Web.
14 Nov. 2013.
<http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/04/29/poverty-causes-teen-parenting-not-the-other-way-around/>.
Zimmerman, Johnathan. "Poverty, Not Sex Ed, Key
Factor in Teen Pregnancy." SFGate. N.p., 4 Sept. 2008. Web. 15 Nov.
2013.
Rich, Motoko. "Income Inequality and Teenage
Pregnancy." Economix. New York Times, 03 Apr. 2012. Web. 15 Nov.
2013.
<http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/income-inequality-and-teenage-pregnancy/?_r=0>.
Reimer, Susan. "Case Closed: Teen Pregnancy Is
Poverty's Offspring." Baltimore Sun. N.p., 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 15
Nov. 2013.
<http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-04-16/news/bs-ed-reimer-0416-20120416_1_teen-pregnancy-american-teens-teen-mom-reality>.
