Hispanic Teens: Highest Reported Cases of Teen Pregnancy in US - Essay Sample

Introduction

Hispanics teens have recorded many cases of pregnancy than those belonging any of the diverse groups in the United States. Pregnancy in the stage of teenage has of late been considered a national problem in the US Statistics; however, reveal that a greater portion is contributed by the Hispanics aged between 13-19 years. These groups are Americans who descended from Spaniards and Latin Americans. Even though there is a significant number of teen pregnancies across the other ethnic and racial groups in the US, that of Hispanic teens has dramatically increased and has attracted the attention of many. The increase in pregnancy is associated with drug abuse, which tends to reduce their social morals; approximately 54 percent of the Hispanic teens use at least one illicit drug. There is, therefore, the need to investigate the health behaviors associated with Hispanic teen pregnancies and the consequences.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The most considerable health behaviors that are significantly attached to teen pregnancy among the Hispanics are drug and substance abuse. The teenagers mostly use drugs irresponsibly because of peer pressure. Others use various forms of drugs when they feel frustrated (Salas-Wright et al., 2015). The parents also appear to be less concerned with the habit of developing in the children, which implies that they are not against the tendency. This, however, leads to many cases of pregnancy since the children end up in irresponsible sexual behaviors. Consequently, many cases of pregnancies occur among this group in a particular stage.

There is the need to address this problem since it appears to increase steadily and the implications are negative on the side of the victims. Half of the Hispanic teens, translating to 47% use marijuana. Besides, 13 percent of Hispanic teens are reported to be using Ecstasy. The use of the drugs leads to significant social evils one of which is unethical interaction among the teens of the opposite sexes. Subsequently, they find themselves practicing sexual activities. Being of tender age with little exposure and knowledge on how to handle sexual issues, the teen girls get pregnant as a result (Salas-Wright et al., 2015). The given health behavior is associated with both the girls and boys most of whom are still school going. It, therefore, follows that a study on this problem can help in achieving a proper understanding of the background information and suggesting recommendations to help reduce its occurrence.

Even as much as their parents accept the use of drugs among Hispanic teens, there are far much serious consequences besides the occurrence of pregnancy among them. For instance, loss of proper mental health condition is normally a considerable problem. Schinke et al. (2015) argued that the freedom they have implies that their behavior on the same is out of hand. The ultimate consequence is normally a corrupted mental health capacity. Moreover, they lead a stressful life; this results from their inability to continue with their education which a potential cause of poverty among them as young adults.

Conclusion

Teen pregnancy has been a prevalent occurrence in the United States, and mostly among the Hispanics. This occurs based on the freedom their parents grant them to consume drugs. Drug and substance abuse leads to irresponsible behaviors like sexual interaction among teens. As a result, the number of teenagers from this group which becomes pregnant has considerably increased. The given health behavior has other serious health consequences hence the issue is worth studying for an informed interaction.

References

Salas-Wright, C., Vaughn, M., Ugalde, J., & Todic, J. (2015). Substance use and teen pregnancy in the United States: Evidence from the NSDUH 2002-2012. Addictive Behaviors, 45, 218-225. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.01.039

Schinke, S., Schwinn, T., Hopkins, J., & Wahlstrom, L. (2016). Drug abuse risk and protective factors among Hispanic adolescents. Preventive Medicine Reports, 3, 185-188. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.01.012