Teen Pregnancy Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

Teen Pregnancy –Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
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Teen Pregnancy – Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
Introduction
In 2014, a historic low birth rate of 24.2 per 1000 was recorded for adolescent females (i.e. between 15 and 19 years of age) by the Centers for Disease Control. However, still 250,000 babies were born to this age group resulting in the problem of teen pregnancy. Another study was conducted to survey the 9th graders in 12 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), which showed that 30% of them have had sexual intercourse (Hamilton et al., 2015).
As summarized by an Urban Institute report the main reasons for teen childbearing were found to be low educational attainment children and mother both and long-term poverty. Furthermore, mental health disorders were also common among these adolescence, with one in four teenagers suffering from a disorder, which can be considered as a major cause for teenage pregnancy (Hoffman, 2008).
Bearing a child as teenager is likely to have a negative consequences on the adolescents suffering such as a young adult they would face the problem of unemployment. Therefore, this paper seeks to identify the causes of teen pregnancy and determine strategies to address the issue with particular emphasis on the LAUSD.
Discussion
Adolescent Behavioral Issues and Teen Pregnancy
In order to address the problem of teen pregnancy it is imperative to understand the precursor of the problems. Several sociological and psychological factors affect behavior of adolescent (Corcoran, 2016). A major mental disorder that can lead teenagers to get involved in sexual intercourse is development of conduct problem or disorder (i.e. oppositional defiant disorder). It is defined as antisocial behavior or being aggressive.
Most commonly the risk of conduct problem development is associated with unemployment, overcrowding, racial prejudice, poverty, adults being involved in crime and drug addiction. According to Fric (2006) conduct problems result in earlier sexual involvement for young boys and girls; however, it is more harmful for girls, as they can get pregnant. Vladutiu (2014) opines that while the occurrence of teen childbearing is multi-factorial, depression is a major factor contributing to adolescence pregnancy.
Hall et al. (2014) conducted a study to analyze pregnancy in late adolescence among 992 young females in the US. The results showed that pregnancy rates were higher among women with baseline depression (14%) and stress (15%) as compared to those without symptoms (9%). Furthermore, using a multivariable model it was concluded that women with stress symptoms have 1.6 times higher pregnancy risk as compared to women without symptoms. Thus, it can be concluded that stress and depression can result in risk of early unintended pregnancy (Farber, 2016).
Several other factors such as lack of information about emergency contraceptive and contraceptive, low educational aspiration among female adolescents and lack of stable career prospects and early initiation to sexual activity can lead to higher numbers of teen pregnancy (Sodi, 2010).
Techniques to Address Teen Pregnancy