Assignment 6

1. The teen pregnancy rate in the past few years has risen by 3% for the first time in 14 years. Experts say it is too soon to say whether this increase will show a long-term trend or not. This increase does catch the attention of researchers though because of the 14yrs that it has been declining teen.
2. According to the experts interviewed, teen pregnancy rates had been dropping either because teens were not having sex or because they were using contraceptives. Some also believe that the increase in abstinence only programs have led to the increase in teen pregnancy.
3. Research showed that situations that really influence teen pregnancy rates are the communities in which they live in, the people they hang out with, their success in school, and how in charge the parents are of what their children are allowed to do (curfews, groups of friends, etc.) Also having a safe place to hang out where they can feel a sense of belonging can aid in this.
4. If I were running a center for teens, it would be a fun but safe place where teens would want to come to hang out with friends all the time. I would teach about all of the different situations that teens might encounter. I would have a sex ed program where I not only taught about abstinence, because that is ineffective, because then teens do not learn how to use contraception correctly, so I would also teach about how to practice safe sex. Teens are going to have sex and it is best to make them knowledgeable about the different forms of birth control so that there aren't any unwanted pregnancies.