Teen Pregnancy Facts and Individual
Antecedents of Teen Pregnancy - Part 4
Teen Pregnancy - Individual Antecedents - Part 4
Adolescent’s sexual behaviour is affected by their attitudes, beliefs and skills. They are more likely to engage in sex if they perceive more social gains from having sex and low costs, are not concerned about STD’s or pregnancy, are set on having sex, have permissive beliefs about premarital sex, and cannot avoid sex. If they do not view pregnancy negatively, do not believe they are at risk for pregnancy, do not understand how pregnancy could negatively impact their life, are less informed about contraception, and have negative beliefs about contraception, they are less likely to use contraception. teens are more likely to become pregnant when they have more sexual partners, are less inclined to use contraception, do not regularly use contraception, and initiate sex earlier. (Kirby, 2002).
Kirby identifies three themes in the review of the literature. Firstly, many of the risk factors involve some lack of resources, lack of parental organization, or emotional deficit. For example, communities that are disadvantaged by having low education, low income, high crime rate, high unemployment rate, parents who under or over monitor their children, and individuals who have suffered abuse or emotional distress. Second, he emphasizes the importance of adolescent’s social environments. Their parents, peers, schools, and communities influence them through modeling, social pressure, opportunities to engage in certain behaviours, and shared social norms. Lastly, sexual risk taking behaviour is reduced by positive attachments. Attachment to groups or individuals that model low-risk norms can be a protective factor.
