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Essay / Teenage Pregnancy: Social and Economic Costs
Table of ContentsAbstractIntroductionMethodsFindingsDiscussionConclusionReferencesAbstractThis essay describes the consequences of teenage pregnancy in the United States. Social and economic aspects are noted, and the results presented are used to show the societal and economic costs on mother and child. and the public sector. The research presented addresses three key unanswered questions regarding the consequences of adolescent childbearing: first, the socioeconomic effects on maternal and child well-being; second, the factors that differentiate successful young mothers from those who fail; third, the impact of teenage pregnancies on government spending. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Results revealed a negative impact on the psychosocial well-being and economic independence of unsuccessful mothers, due to lack of education and increased income demands. At the same time, this phenomenon has a negative impact on government costs of supporting young mothers living in poverty.IntroductionParenthood significantly changes a woman's or man's life. Preceded by 9 months of pregnancy and followed by taking care of the child, it generally does not leave parents time for other activities. Although parents are typically never prepared to raise their children, those who are older and/or married, employed, and employed have the resources to adapt adequately. The demands of parenthood come as a shock to single teenagers attending school. , dependent on their parents and who do not know enough how to raise a child. Given the responsibilities and demands of parenthood, the sacrifices young parents make cannot be safely ignored. This research essay focuses on the adverse sequelae of adolescent pregnancies on maternal education, social and economic well-being, and societal costs. Methods The studies reported in this essay come from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy. The study measured the age at which young adolescents participated in the sexual activity that led to their pregnancy. Thus, this is associated with an analysis of education, number of children and/or family size. Other studies have been done in a way that simply divides the age of 18 to compare high school dropout rates. Additionally, the article presents studies that analyzed the factors that led to the success of young mothers years after giving birth. The results presented in the third section are prepared from two studies; National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing. The results estimated the total costs and benefits of the program from a societal perspective in which the adolescents were helped. Additionally, it calculates the average annual costs of operating the program in 1982 including salaries, benefits, maintenance, food, and expenses related to fundraising activities. ResultsThe first priority question is how do social and economic factors affect the well-being of the mother and family members? Most research focuses on young women while data relevant to children is also available. Schooling The most generic sequence of events that leads to procreation is in the direction of schooling,marriage then pregnancy. However, when young women do not follow conventional childbearing stages and therefore become pregnant during their adolescence, they most often face difficulties finding time to engage and attend school. Among all high school dropouts in the United States, 30% of girls say pregnancy or being a parent was the primary reason they left school. About 60% of teen mothers ages 18 to 19 earn a high school diploma and 13% earn a GED. to 89% of students who did not give birth in adolescence. This result appears to be worse for female students under 18; only 38% of them graduate from high school in recent years. For these unfortunate teenagers, reconciling children's education and schoolwork was impossible. For a clearer understanding, the graph below shows the results consistent with the study conducted. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, young mothers are three times more likely to live in poverty. In fact, nearly 63% of adolescents receive public benefits in the first year after giving birth. What are the impacts of these results on mothers and children? A 2016 study published in The American Journal of Maternal/Child nursing indicates that symptoms of depression are two to four times higher among teen mothers than among their peers. High levels of depression massively affect the relationship between mother and child and can even affect the emotional and intellectual development of the child. Additionally, these mothers may experience a lack of emotional and social support from their child's father and parents; a breakdown in the relationship with the baby's father; discrimination from classmates, teachers, employers and relatives. However, what are the effects on children? Children of teenage mothers are more likely to be born with low birth weight, have lower reading scores and vocabulary, experience abuse, be incarcerated, drop out of high school, and become parents adolescents. Additionally, compared to mothers over age 20, young teen mothers are 2.2 times more likely to have a child in foster care within the first 5 years after birth. Economic Well-Being The data presented in this article is based on three studies, all three of which showed consistent results: There is no direct impact of teenage pregnancy on women's hourly wages. There nevertheless appears to be an indirect effect on these mothers. Research has shown that teenage mothers earn less than other mothers later in life or those who do not have children. Early birth increases family size but simultaneously decreases the proportion of years worked. On the other hand, as mentioned above, almost half of teen mothers do not earn a high school diploma, making it more difficult for them to find a job. Adding all these details together, giving birth at an early age is associated with reduced income, all due to limited education and increased obligation for economic support. Factors leading to young children's success An exceptional study explored all the factors that led young parents to achieve success in their lives. Researchers followed a sample of 300 Baltimore women who had their child before or at age 18 one, three, five and seventeen years after birth. Seventeen years later, women selected as samples were still receiving helpsocial or were economically secure and dependent and earned a total of $25,000 or more per year. Three families out of 500 women showed successful economic well-being. Factors related to family resources included high parental education, small family size, and childhood welfare experience. Additionally, intrinsic motivators, including success in high school, continued education, or educational aspirations, encouraged young mothers to continue their education and be less dependent on welfare programs. Societal Impacts Low levels of educational achievement among adolescent mothers reduce employment opportunities and economic independence later in life. In addition, a State loses its workforce, its purchasing power and collects fewer taxes. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, estimates predict that if 90 percent of a state's students graduated from high school in 2012, the state's economy would benefit from an increase of approximately $64 million. dollars in annual revenues and a $5 million increase in annual state and local revenues. Additionally, different datasets from Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Childbeing were analyzed to try to show the overall impact of AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) spending on households. in which the mother gave birth during her adolescence. The results show that approximately $4.65 to $5 billion was spent on these mothers in the United States; adding in food stamps and drugs, these expenses increase to a total of $8.55 billion. This dual challenge can interfere with the adolescent's ability to understand parenting and bond with her newborn 4 to 6 weeks after birth, the most critical period that lays the foundation for their relationship. and social support, young mothers may feel overwhelmed in their new role as parents. They must be encouraged to take courses, continue their studies and find economic support. Reducing all teen pregnancies would protect teens from poverty and billions of public sector dollars. Thus, it is prudent to argue that reducing adolescent fertility is the most effective, consistent, and preferable method of reducing government costs. Therefore, how can we reduce teenage pregnancies? According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy, nearly half (47.8%) of adolescent girls in the United States have regular sex with their peers. Despite government costs, serious consequences are at stake for these young girls and boys and ways to prevent unwanted teenage pregnancies should be a top priority. Recognizing that adolescent girls have regular sex is one step closer to preventing unwanted pregnancies. Both parents and teachers are responsible for the sex education of these young adults. Sex talk shouldn't be a taboo conversation; Denying the fact that sex becomes a physiological need in an adolescent's life is not an effective approach to the problem. Adolescents should be comfortable talking to their parents or guidance counselors and should be able to ask for help rather than facing consequences due to lack of education.ConclusionThis review only included studies that addressed the socio-economic outcomes of young mothers. , most of whom received public sector health benefits. All studies,495523