Shifts in Teen Pregnancy

Shifts in Teen Pregnancy
[YOUR NAME HERE]
[YOUR SCHOOL NAME HERE]
Abstract
      This is a paper about teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy is one of America's growing problems. There are more than 1 million teenagers that are pregnant in the United States. The American Medical Association Report states that sexual activity is beginning at an earlier age. Most teenagers believe that it will not happen to them, but it can and does.

      In our constantly developing society, it is not surprising to note that adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors have greatly changed within the past two decades. Darling, Kallen & VanDusen, (1984) in their study of college students found a major increase in the number of young people reporting to have had sexual intercourse. They also found that college age females, who were once thought to be less sexually active than college age males, were now just as sexually active. In Canadian data from university studies, a dramatic rise from 1967 to 1979 in the percentage of students who had experienced premarital intercourse was shown (Darling, Kallen & VanDusen, 1984). These findings of increased promiscuity among adolescents inevitably evoke a strong sense of curiosity and raise the question: which factors have been the most influential in regards to increased teenage promiscuity?
      Today, not only are there more youths who are sexually active but research shows that the majority of them do not use contraceptives on a regular basis. The reasons behind this lack of birth control use are equally important as the increase in sexual activity for the problem of unwanted pregnancy among the young in society is remarkably prevalent and continually on the rise (Cohen, 1983). The reasons behind adolescents engaging in sexual intercourse so early in life are extensive and yet it becomes increasingly evident that cultural changes within our society have played the single most influential role in this area. Society's attitudes towards...