Teen Pregnancy

Abstract
      This research paper investigated the benefits and cost of prevention and intervention of teen pregnancy at the state and national level.   The thesis of this research is that education, abstinence, and parental involvement are vital in reducing the rate of teen pregnancy.   The findings supported this thesis, maintaining that prevention and intervention on the state and national level have contributed to the progress in reducing teen pregnancy over the last decade.   Research methodology included a review of professional literature.   The conclusion stated that teen pregnancy is not a solitary issue that can be solved with one specific strategy.   It is both a cause and effect of larger problems, such as poverty, sexual victimization, child abuse and family dysfunction, all of which attest to the need of major social changes within the community, legislature, and the nation to implement effective changes to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy.

Teen Pregnancy
Intervention and Prevention

Introduction
      Teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of other critical social issues such as, poverty and income, education, health issues, child welfare, and sexually transmitted diseases.   There are also substantial public costs associated with teen childbearing due to social problems afflicting pregnant teenagers, from school failure and crime to child abuse and neglect.   There appears to be a correlation between promoting and providing education, and abstinence from sex on the state and national level to teenagers.   Although the United States has made strong progress in reducing teen pregnancy and birth rates, the teen pregnancy rate in the United States is still the highest among comparable countries according to a recent study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute.   There is also some evidence to suggest that the progress the nation has made in preventing teen pregnancy has begun to slow or in some cases, to reverse all of which suggests that the nation’s... [continues]

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