Teen pregnancy complex problem
One has only to pick up the newspaper or watch television news to hear reports that the rise of teen-age pregnancies in our country is astounding. Although schools, churches, social agencies and Planned Parenthood groups have tried to deal with prevention, the statistics rise.
Many families feel the same about teen-age pregnancies as they do chemical abuse or teenage suicides – “It won’t happen to my child. I know they have been raised differently,” are statements I hear repeatedly. Taking the stance of an ostrich with its head in the sand is not the answer. The statistics show it happens in all social strata, in families of all religions and cultural backgrounds.
Because the problem is so complex, it should be dealt with over a period of years progressing through the developmental stages of boys and girls. Information about human growth and development, the life cycle and human sexuality can be presented in ways of understanding at various stages of growth. These biological and psychological facts will contribute to good physical and mental health. Parents who wait until their child reaches puberty may find themselves trying to save a sinking ship when there is already a big hole in the bottom.
Before teenagers begin gathering in groups, discussion should center on the reasons for meeting and getting to know members of the opposite sex. Emphasize that not all societies allow teenage dating, that some cultures select mates and arrange marriages. Our society believes that one of the chief functions of teenage dating is to understand different personality types, to find someone you are comfortable with, to crystallize interest patterns and discover compatibility.
Since adolescence is a stressful and awkward time, with physical development and self-confidence still in the developmental stages, learning to communicate effectively often seems like a monumental task to many young people. As a teenager if it is difficult to keep a conversation going or to initiate one with a member of the opposite sex at a party, during a lunch period at school or even on the telephone. Help them work at communication skills, a needed art and one that requires a great deal of psychic energy.
In the physical act of communication that occurs during sexual involvement, all thoughts of getting to know the opposite sex are directed only toward one end, that of sexual gratification. Once teenagers become involved sexually, they are consumed with this part of the relation. Each meeting is dedicated to the question of how quickly they can get away and alone and become physically involved. Verbal skills are forgotten as the relationship becomes primarily physical. Interpersonal growth and development becomes nonexistent.
Sex is obviously a very powerful biological process that can take over a relationship. Sadly, it causes adolescents to skip over an important stage of human growth and development.
Next week I will discuss ways teenagers can deal with this potentially difficult time of development.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1986
