The Determinants of Teenage Pregnancy Using the Seedhouse...

Introduction The main determinant of teenage pregnancy is commonly seen to be poor or lack of sexual education, but this essay will outline and explore further options such as social and economic issues including the involvement of education via both schooling and the media on sexual attitudes influencing adolescent sexual behaviour. Pregnancy amongst adolescents is common around the world; however different cultures and different geographical regions have various explanations for teenage pregnancy. This essay will expand and delve into the determinants using elements from The Seedhouse Diagram (1986). Educational and the media are both types of determinants with sexual education seen as being biological and not involved with the emotions†¦show more content†¦For males the embarrassment of not being adept in the use of condoms far outweighs the threat of having unprotected sex, this conclusion was founded in a study produced by Abel Fitzgerald (2006) on evaluating young peoples understanding of risk associated to unprotected sex. Abel Fitzgeralds study shows that peer pressure on teenagers to have sexual intercourse prevails over the consequence of not using contraception in order to avoid teenage pregnancies. Embarrassment about contraception may distract teenagers from asking for help and advice about protection against pregnancy. Adolescents will face possible teenage pregnancies if they are unable to ask doctors, health professionals and/or even retailers for contraception. The lack of contraception use resulting in teenage pregnancy reflects the statistics published by the European Commission (2000) which indicates that the United Kingdom has one of the highest abortion rates among women under the age of 20. In the United Kingdom abortion is freely available on the National Health Service and there is an unproven misconception that some teenagers can view this service as a secondary form of contraception which could ultimately explain the high abortion rate statistics for this country. Drugs and alcohol can also be a determinant of teenage pregnancy as they lower inhibitions and teenagers may get