research paper

Hi,

I have this research paper ” cause
of tenagers abortion In U.S”

thanks

Surname 1

Research Outline

Causes of Teenage Abortion in America Outline Template

I. Introduction: Thesis Statement

The research paper will focus on the major causes of teenage abortion in United States of America

II. Background Information

The studies that have been carried out indicate that there has been a fluctuation in the rates of teenage pregnancies and abortions over time in United Sates. According to Guttmacher researchers, abortion has been on a decline from 1992 till 2006, after which abortion rates among the teens started to increase. The decrease in the rates of abortion was attributed to the increase in the use of contraceptives. However, there have been recent increase in the teenage pregnancies among the teens belonging to minority groups. In studies that were carried out in 2005, Black and non-white Hispanics’ rate was 12 percent while it was 4.4 percent for white teens. There are factors that determine the teen’s ability and choice to carry out pregnancies.

III. First cause: Peer pressure influence

Teenage abortion among teens in United Sates has been attributed to peer pressure influences. According to the 1990 study carried out by Guttmacher researcher, most of the teens undertake abortion because of peer influences.

IV. Second cause: protection of self-esteem

Teenage pregnancies are associated with high levels of immorality in United States. Teens thus fear being identified as being immoral in the society. This is supported by the information in the Guttmatcher research report that teens perform abortion to protect their self-esteem in the society.

V. Third cause: To continue with education

Teenage pregnancies are likely to lead to the termination of teen’s education. Teens thus prefer to terminate their pregnancies and continue with their education, rather than risk ending their education and facing negative repercussions such as poverty.

VI. Fourth cause: Societal pressure

The American society has expectations on the steps of a teen. These include expectation such as completing school and getting well-paying jobs. In case of a pregnancy, therefore, a teen will prefer to do an abortion so as to achieve the life stages expected by the society. Furthermore, according to the research undertaken by Guttmacher Institute, societal pressure was one of the factors that leads to teenage pregnancy.

v. Conclusion

This paper was focusing on the causes of teenage abortion in United States. The key causes covered in the research include societal pressure, the urge to continue with education, protection of self-esteem, and peer pressure influence.

Works cited

Belinda, Luscombe. “New Data: Teen Pregnancy, Abortion on the Rise.” time.com. Jan. 26, 2010. Retrieved from: < http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1956645,00.html >

Linda, Lowen. “Why Teens Choose Abortion: How Parental Involvement, Abortion Access, Educational Aspirations Play a Role.” about.com. May 27, 2009. Retrieved from:

http://womensissues.about.com/od/teenpregnancy/a/TeenAbortReasons.htm

James B. Kelleher, Editing by Cynthia Johnston. “Teen pregnancy, abortion rates at record low, study says.” reuters.com. Feb 8, 2012. Retrieved from: <

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/us-teen-pregnancy-idUSTRE8171J020120208

** Source information:

Date: Wed Feb 8, 2012 12:23pm

Document type: Article

Title: “Teen pregnancy, abortion rates at record low, study says”

Authors: By James B. Kelleher, Editing by Cynthia Johnston

Source: “Teen pregnancy, abortion rates at record low, study says.”reuters.com. Feb 8, 2012

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/us-teen-pregnancy-idUSTRE8171J020120208

** Summary:

Since 1972 until 2008, the rate of pregnancy and abortion among teenagers in the United States decreased significantly, and the rate of contraceptive use increased. In 2008, which is the most recent year that the Guttmacher researchers looked at government statistics on teen-age sex, pregnancies, births and abortion. They found that nearly 750,000 U.S. women under the age of 20 became pregnant in 2008, nearly 98 percent of them between the ages of 15 and 19. In 2008 the rate of teen abortion had decreased since 1972. The researchers and analyzers think the percentage decreased because both male and female teens used contraception. The researchers found that teen who had pregnancies and abortions between the ages of 15to 17 may be affected long-term. This long-term affect could show as a decline in their sexual activity. However, Racial and ethnic disparities are still seen in the African American communities. They found that the abortion rate is still two to four times that of their white peers. In addition, in 2008 they found the birth rates for Hispanic and black teens were more than twice those of the counterpart, and the Hispanic teen abortion rate were twice as high as the rate of white peers and black teen abortion rate were four times higher than the rate of the Caucasian.

** Quotations:

1. The researcher said that the disparities between race affect the teens and make them abort a fetus:

But disparities among racial and ethnic groups continued to persist, with black and Hispanic teens experiencing pregnancy and abortion rates two to four times higher than their white peers, the Guttmacher Institute, the nonprofit sexual health research group that conducted the analysis, said.

2. The percentage of the teens pregnant decreased because teen are more alert, to the use of contraceptives “The teen abortion rate in 2008 dropped to the lowest rate seen since 1972 at 17.8 per 1,000 teen girls and women, the analysis found, and was down 59 percent from 1988 when the abortion rate peaked at 43.5 per 1,000 teen women. The Guttmacher researchers said the decline in teen birthrates was largely attributable to increased contraceptive use by teens of both genders.”

** Paraphrasing:

Original paragraph:

The Guttmacher researchers said the decline in teen birthrates was largely attributable to increased contraceptive use by teens of both genders. Among women aged 15 to 17, about a quarter of the long-term decline in pregnancies, births and abortions could be attributable to reduced sexual activity, the researchers said.

Paraphrased paragraph:

The researcher found that the rate of teen pregnancy decreased because of increase in using the contraceptive on both of male and female teens. In addition, researchers found that teen females who aged between 15-17, may be affect their sexual life on long term, if they faced pregnancy and abortion at a young age

**Respond

This article talked about the pregnancy and abortion of teenagers, as well as, the percentage of the abortions since 1972 and how it decreased through 2008. It also addresses how race affects these statistics and the differences between the races such as African American, Hispanic…etc. The researchers found the main cause for the decline in abortion was teen awareness to contraception. I was really shocked at that rate of the abortion in 1972. It was nearly 98 percent teens between the ages of 15 and 19. In 2008, the rate decreased to 59 percent. A lot of teens use contraceptives today.

**Source information:

Date: May 27, 2009

Document type: Article

Title: “Why Teens Choose Abortion: How Parental Involvement, Abortion Access, Educational Aspirations Play a Role ”

Authors:

Linda Lowen

Source: “Why Teens Choose Abortion: How Parental Involvement, Abortion Access, Educational Aspirations Play a Role ” about.com. May 27, 2009

**Summary:

Study shows that teens and share similar reasons as to why they abortion and some of the reasons include priorities, finance, preparedness and fear of unknown. Factors that influence choices especially for abortion in teens include parent, society, religion, peer, educational levels, educational levels, socioeconomic status and access to family planning facilities.

Parent’s involvement

There involvement influences the choices the teens make. The various states have different regulation on how to secure abortion. Parents need to know the sexual activeness of their teens in order to ease relations and decisions for the teen.

Education levels

Teens fear changes that come with having a baby especially the fear of negative impacts on their lives. There is fear of education interruption that has ramifications in other aspects in life such as poverty. Pregnant teens tend to compare their condition and that of others who have successfully aborted and succeeded in life and they may want to imitate them. Comparisons show that pregnant teens are disadvantaged since their education is affected since they do not get time to attend to school matters. According to study, only 2 percent of teen moms at age below 18 attain college degree by the age of 30.

Abortion providers

There is little access to abortion services in the U.S. A study by one federation shows that in 2005, about 87 percent of counties in the U.S. do not have abortion facilities. Study shows service seekers travel long distances for abortion services and the laws on parent notifications also limit access to services.

Cultural influence

Fear of discussing pregnancy is a deep-rooted topic and secretive to extend of being an obstacle to potential help to teens. Lack of communication could some times lead to contemplation of abortion due to helplessness. Unguided abortions could sometimes lead to severe consequences including death.

Fear of shame

Teens see abortion as a way of hiding their sexual activities and associated “shame”. Teens are sensitive to peer ridicule and this influences pregnant teens to consider abortion.

Media portrayal of Teen Pregnancy and Abortion

Over the years, the media has changed the old views of the topic with considerable influence toward living normal lives for the pregnant teens. Increased cases of teen pregnancies highlighted by the media have helped shade the taboo notion with many discussing it openly. The positive view of the topic has caused many pregnant teens to choose motherhood and with growing admiration for having babies, teen abortion may reduce to the minimal.

**Quotations:

1. The Guttmacher Institute has given similar views about reasons for teen abortion. The institute quote reasons such as: “Not wanting their lives changed by the birth of a baby, not being able to afford a baby and not feeling mature or responsible enough to raise a child”

2. A study by

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

, suggest

“In 2005 87% of counties in the United States had no abortion provider. Estimates of women who obtained abortions in 2005 indicate that 25% traveled at least 50 miles, and 8% traveled more than 100 miles. Eight states were served by fewer than five abortion providers”.

**Paraphrasing:

Original paragraph:

According to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in 2005 87% of counties in the United States had no abortion provider. Estimates of women who obtained abortions in 2005 indicate that 25% traveled at least 50 miles, and 8% traveled more than 100 miles. Eight states were served by fewer than five abortion providers. North Dakota has only one abortion provider.

Paraphrased paragraph

A 2005 study by Planned Parenthood Federation of America suggested that as many as 87 percent of U.S. counties did not have abortion services. Same study says that up to 25 percent of abortion seeker travelled a minimum of 50 miles to seek services while another 8 percent travelled at least 100 miles. North Dakota had one provider while there were fewer than five abortion providers in about eight states.

**Respond:

Teen abortion is still a controversial issue especially with objections by some mainstream religious groups that is ultimately enhancing the trend towards teen mothers. Although it is clear that teen motherhood is a potential distraction to the lives of the child, the stakeholders should try device ways to eliminate obstacles and enable them leave a normal live.

** Source information:

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010

Document type: Article

Title: “New Data: Teen Pregnancy, Abortion on the Rise”

Authors: Belinda Luscombe

Source: “New Data: Teen Pregnancy, Abortion on the Rise” time.com. Jan. 26, 2010

< http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1956645,00.html >

**Summary:

Until 2006, the rates of teen pregnancies have been on the decline for more than a decade and half according to credible sources from Guttmacher and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. According to the reports, most of the pregnancies were among ages 18 and 19. These reports are a source of information for stakeholders in churches, schools and government. The rate of pregnancies has fluctuated over the years since the 1970s. The 1990s records the highest number of teen pregnancies.

Recent increases in teen pregnancies have been more in the minority segment although in the overall, it has been declining. Studies conducted in 2005 show that white teen pregnancy was at 4.4 percent as compared to 12 for black and non-white Hispanic although it was considerable decline for both. Guttmacher report breaks down pregnancy figure for ease of use for stakeholders. The institute champions many options associated with challenges of teen pregnancies besides abstinence.

Abortion trend shows that those more inclined to perform it are whites and Hispanic teenagers. For example, studies by Guttmacher in 1990 shows that about 43.9 percent of pregnant white teenager committed abortion while in 2006, about 29.3 percent terminated their pregnancies. In the same period, the Hispanics experienced 22.9 percent while black teens were 41 percent. Most teens surveyed by Guttmacher cited reasons for abortion as protection of self-esteem, influence from peer pressure, need to continue with education, societal pressure, and lack of guidance and fear of the unknown. The trends started in 2006 are yet to take its levels and stakeholders are keen to see if the trends are likely to continue or change.

**Quotations:

1. The Guttmacher Institute is supportive of a broad based approach to teen pregnancy and abortion. Heather Boonstra who is a senior public policy associate at the New York City–based organization says that;

“”A strong body of research shows that these programs do not work,”

2. Guttmacher institute has studied trends among the various races and ethnic groups and in one of its report in says that;

“ in 1990, 43.9% of pregnant white teens terminated their pregnancies.” The report goes ahead to compare the numbers with the other ethnic composition. The report says, “Among Hispanics, the rate dropped from 28.1% to 22.9% in the same period. But among black teens, the rate has not moved much in 15 years — holding steady at about 41%.”

**Paraphrasing:
Original paragraph:

“When it comes to abortion, the trend line has been heading downward among whites and Hispanic teens. In 1990, 43.9% of pregnant white teens terminated their pregnancies, according to the Guttmacher report. In 2006, 29.3% did. Among Hispanics, the rate dropped from 28.1% to 22.9% in the same period. But among black teens, the rate has not moved much in 15 years — holding steady at about 41%.”

Paraphrased paragraph

Abortion trends show higher trends among whites and Hispanic teens as compared to black teens. A report by Guttmacher shows that almost half of the pregnant teens at 43.9 percent secured abortions as compared to 41 percent and 22.9 percent among the blacks and Hispanic teens.

**Respond

The article is quite detailed concerning managing teen pregnancies as a way of approaching the topic. The broad based approach highlighted by the article focuses on the use of information to address issues of diversity. In addition, it looks at ways in which stakeholders can respond through education, information and new innovative methods.

Source Information for Article on the Religious Perspectives of Abortion

Date: January 16, 2013

Document type: Article

Title: Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Abortion

Authors: Pew ResearchCenter

Source:

http://www.pewforum.org/2013/01/16/religious-groups-official-positions-on-abortion/

Summary

The article, “Religious Group’s Official Positions on Abortion” focuses on the identification of the religious positions of various churches on the controversial issue of abortion. The religious groups covered in the article include U.S.A’s Baptist churches, Buddhism, Catholicism, and Latter-day Saints’ Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Hinduism, American Evangelical Lutheran Church, Islam, Judaism, United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, Southern Baptist Convention, National Council of Churches, and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).

The American Baptist Churches does not condemn abortion but oppose the application of abortion as a way of birth control. Buddhism does not have an official position regarding abortion, but many of them are in support of the argument that the life of an individual begins right at conception. They also believe that it is morally wrong for one to kill. Catholicism, in their stand, opposes any form of abortion. The Latter-day Saints’ Church of Christ opposes abortion but permits the practicing of abortion in special circumstances such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Episcopal Church on their part accepts the right for a woman to undertake abortion only in cases such as the occurrence of fetal abnormalities, cases involving risks to the health of the mother, incest or rape.

In Hinduism, abortion is highly condemned unless the mother’s life is in danger. In the case of American Evangelical Lutheran Church, abortion before fetus viability is acceptable while abortion after fetus viability is condemned. The Islam religion, on their part accepts abortion done within four months after conception. However, the abortion done after four months from the time of conception is condemned. The Jewish religion teaches for the sanctioning abortion as a way in which the life of the mother is safeguarded. In general, the article shows that though there might be special considerations among the different religious groups, abortion is generally condemned by religious groups.

Quotations

1. “elective abortion for personal or social convenience is contrary to the will and the commandments of God” (Pew ResearchCenter, par. 4). From the quotation, it is clear that the abortion that is done based on either social convenience or personal convenience, according to the teachings of the God’s commandments, is not accepted.

2. “abortion prior to viability [of a fetus] should not be prohibited by law or by lack of public funding” (Pew ResearchCenter, par. 6)

This statement of the quotation supports abortion that is carried out before the fetus becomes viable. It thus does not accept any opposition from law.

Paraphrasing

Original Paragraph

In accordance with its widely publicized anti-abortion teachings, the Catholic Church opposes abortion in all circumstances and often leads the national debate on abortion.

Paraphrased Paragraph

Based on Catholic Church’s teachings on anti-abortion, Catholic Church condemns abortion undertaken under all circumstances.

Response: Based on the general views of the various religious groups, abortion is generally non-permissible. However, there are circumstances in which it is permissible such as the time when the mother’s life is in danger. I also support this argument because abortion done to save the life of a mother is ethically permissible.

Source information for the article that accepts that Abortion is Murder

Date: 1997

Document type: Article

Title: Human Personhood Begins at Conception

Authors: PETER KREEFT

Source:

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/abortion/ab0004.html

Summary

In the article, the author has highlighted the arguments that the supporters of abortion employ in trying to show that abortion is not murder. These are the main arguments that are employed to argue and support that the unborn child cannot be considered to be a person. The author then goes ahead to support why such arguments are not true arguments. In the article, the author argues that both the Christians and the non-Christians take different sides regarding abortion. He mentions that there is no clear cut on the issue of abortion because abortion is a very controversial issue. These arguments about abortion, according to the author, are all about the determination on whether or not the life of an individual begins right after conception or not.

According to the pro-abortionists, abortion is not murder because they do not accept that life starts right when conception takes place, an argument that is strongly opposed by the author, who believes that life starts immediately after conception. The article presents seven arguments that are employed to support that abortion is murder.

Quotations

1. “peace on earth, good will toward men” (KREEFT, par.4). The quotation above is used to imply that abortion is evil and that abortion is murder. This is based on the biblical argument that human beings are created in God’s image and that all human beings are sacred. The above quotation thus calls for the abolition of abortion as it denies the right to live.

2. “Thou shalt not kill” (KREEFT, par.19). This is one of the commandments of God. This quotation seeks to explain that the killing of human beings, deliberately, is an act that is forbidden. Since abortion is a deliberate killing undertaking, it is thus equated to murder thus should not be practiced.

Paraphrasing

Original paragraph

There are no “potential persons” any more than there are potential apes. All persons are actual, as all apes are actual. Actual apes are potential swimmers, and actual persons are potential philosophers. The being is actual, the functioning is potential. The objection confuses “a potential person” with “a potentially functioning person”-Functionalism again.

Paraphrased paragraph

Just as there are no potential apes, thus are no potential persons. Both the apes and the persons are all actual. Actual apes are considered to be potential swimmers and on the other hand, actual persons are equated to actual philosophers. In both cases, beings are considered to be actual while the functioning of these beings is considered to be potential. The whole controversy in the issue is based on the confusion that exists between functionally functioning persons and potential persons.

Response

Abortion is a very controversial subject. However, I believe that abortion is murder because it ii denies the fetus the life, that according to the bible, begins right after conception.

Works cited

Pew ResearchCenter. Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Abortion. January 16, 2013. November 14, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.pewforum.org/2013/01/16/religious-groups-official-positions-on-abortion/

KREEFT, PETER. Human Personhood Begins at Conception. 1997. November 14, 2013. Retrieved from: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/abortion/ab0004.html

Survey of the Causes of Teenagers Abortion in U.S.

This survey is designed for women to give me information about causes that make the teenagers have abortion. I want to gather information to see how is the Americans think about abortion. I appreciate every one that helps me in my research paper by answering these questions.

Demographics:

Ethnicity: (Circle One)

(2)African American (8)Asian American Native American (12)Caucasian

(8) Hispanic Other

Age: (Circle One)

(21) 18-27 (8)28-37 (1)38-47 48-57 58 and more

Please underline the response that most closely matches to your opinion.

1. Most Americans women exposed to abortion in age 18 to 26 years.

(4)Strongly agree (24)agree disagree (2)strongly disagree I don’t know

2. Non- using birth control make the teenagers have unintended pregnancy

(13)Strongly agree (12)agree (4)disagree (1)strongly disagree I don’t know

Teenagers feeling they are still young to be responsible in children make them to do abortion

(10)Strongly agree (14)agree (4)disagree (2)strongly disagree I don’t know

4. Usually pregnancies teenager’s exposed forces to make abortion.

(2)Strongly agree (8)agree (14)disagree (2)strongly disagree (4)I don’t know

5. Abortion should be legal in cause of danger to woman’s health and damaged fetus

(4)Strongly agree (10)agree (4)disagree (2)strongly disagree (10)I don’t know

6. Abortion is murder other person.

(6)Strongly agree (6)agree (12)disagree (4)strongly disagree (2)I don’t know

7. Having abortion will make you feel guilt and shame

(16)Strongly agree (2)agree (4)disagree (2)strongly disagree (6)I don’t know

8. Comment:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.

(Alalawi)

Most Americans women exposed to abortion in age 18 to 26 years.

(Alalawi)

Teenagers feeling they are still young to be responsible in children make them to do abortion

(Alalawi)

Having abortion will make you feel guilt and shame

Sales Agree 60% Disagree 27% Don’t know 13% 0.6 0.27 0.13 Series 1 Agree Disagree Don’t know 0.93 0.07 0.0 Column2 Agree Disagree Don’t know Column1 Agree Disagree Don’t know

Non- using birth control make the teenagers have unintended pregnancy

Sales Agree Disagree Don’t kow 0.83 0.17 0.0 Series 1 strongly Agree Agree strongly Disagree Disagree Don’t know 0.33 0.47 0.13 0.02 0.0 Column2 strongly Agree Agree strongly Disagree Disagree Don’t know Column1 strongly Agree Agree strongly Disagree Disagree Don’t know

Surname 1

Name:

Professor:

Course:

Date:

Causes of Teenage Abortion in United States

Introduction

The rate of abortion among teenagers of between 15 years and 19 years has been on a decline. The decline of teenage abortion between 1990 and 2008 has been statistically shown to be about 56 percent. The decline in the rates of abortion has been common for both younger and older teens. In the American society, about one quarter of all pregnancies of American teens always end in abortion. Statistics have indicated that for every five teenage pregnancies experienced, four out of the five pregnancies are unintended, which implies that 82 percent of the teenage pregnancies are unintended. In 2006, statistics indicated that for every five unintended pregnancies, two of them ended being aborted. This represents 37 percent abortion rate of the unintended teen pregnancies. Teens resort to abortion because of several reasons. This paper is going to focus on the causes that are rooted in the teen abortion in the American society.

Who said the statistics? / why they think abortion is only the way to do it? ( the 2 sentensece in the begaining are perfect then add some general statements then narrow it dawn to to connect with Thises statement )

Background Information

Over all history – define abortion – what it does it mean? – commen issue – FACTS

– Site the facts *** good facts but make it smaller

According to the Government records, an increase of teenage abortion was experienced during the 1970s (Luscombe, 1). It however stabilized in the years of 1980sat around the rate of 43 females per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 years and 19 years. A decline was then experienced to a rate of about 18 females per every 1,000 females by the year 2008. Though great declines have been experienced in the case of older teenagers, there has been a general decline even for the younger teens.

In the case of the different ethical communities in the U.S population, rates for black, white, and Hispanic women have shown a substantial fall since the 1990s. However, for the case of Hispanic women, the decline started at a later time which was round 1993. In the case of white teens, the rates of abortion have decreased by about 68 percent. The second highest decrease in abortion rates is the case of the Hispanic teens, which is about 52 percent. In the case of black teens, the abortion rate has fallen by about 49 percent. The above decreases in rates are relative to the times when abortion rates were at their peaks (Kelleher, 1).

The decrease in the rates of teenage abortion has been attributed by the decline in the teenage pregnancy, with around 1985 being the year when teenage pregnancies were at its peak in the American society, with about 41 percent. The trends have however been on a decline with a rate of 26 percent of teen pregnancies ending in abortion.

In terms of age difference, the rates of abortion for older teens are higher than the abortion rate for younger teens. In this connect, younger teens are teens of15 years and below and their rate of teen abortion was about 0.6 per every 1,000. On the other hand, teens whose age ranges between 15 and 17 years reported a rate of 10.4 per every 1,000. For older teens whose ages range between 18 an 19 years, the abortion rate was 28.6 per every 1,000 teens. However, though the data indicated that older teens had higher abortion rates than the younger teens, the proportion of teenage pregnancies that were likely to be aborted was twice as high in the case of younger teens as compared to older teens.

Causes of Teen Abortion

Different changes her I change it already

There are several reasons as to why teens decide on undertaking abortions. These causes of teenage abortion are greatly influenced by peer group behavior and influence, teen’s socioeconomic status, access to services involved in family planning, educational level, and religious beliefs. In addition to fear for loss of self-esteem due to teenage pregnancy, the urge to continue further education, and the pressure from members of society.

Peer Influence

There are some changes her I did not add them yet, she cross this sentence and she suggest to add events here

The first cause of teenage abortion is peer pressure. Peer pressure is common in most of the men’s activities. Teens are affected by peer pressure because of the notion of fitting into certain groups. All teens feel peer pressure of having sex even in their younger ages. Teen involvement in sexual activities is largely influenced by peer pressure. However, the susceptibility of the effect of peer pressure is different for different teens. Some teens are more susceptible to peer pressure than others do. The most susceptible teens are the socially isolated teens in the society. This thus increases chances of unwanted pregnancies, which end up in abortions.

Self-esteem

There are some changes her I did not add them yet

Teenage pregnancy is associated with immorality in the America community. Teenage pregnancy is thus associated with shame. In the case of an occurrence of an unwanted teen pregnancy, therefore, teens prefer an abortion as opposed to being known by the general public for being pregnant. Teenage pregnancy could act as a teenage girl’s immorality. Furthermore, high school girls that manage to keep their children are subject to pity and gossip among other students in school. It is clear that there are esteem issues that are associated with teenage pregnancy in the American society. Pregnant teens are faced with feelings of depression, shame, anger, denial, guilt, and anger. The negative self-esteem is associated with future employment and financial problems. Teens are also faced with challenges of facing friends, family members, and parents on the issue of pregnancy (Lowen, 1). All these issues are likely to cause the withdrawal of the pregnant teen from the society. A teen would thus prefer an abortion as a way of keeping and maintaining self esteem.

Continuation with Education

There are some changes her I did not add them yet

Add events here

The aspects of education have been found to affect abortion choices among the American teens. For teens who have worried that there might be negatively affected if they drop out of school largely affects one’s decision in the case of a teenage pregnancy. This is because giving birth to their children has high chances of terminating of their educational aspirations and plans. The disruption of educational plans and aspirations is associated with limiting of the teen’s better future lives and cuts away the potential of a better life (Lowen, 1). This thus risk the teen living a future life full of suffering and raising of the child in poverty situations. On the other hand, teens who decide to undertake abortion end up being successful in their education and probably end up forming families of higher socioeconomic status.

Societal pressure.

good

In the United States society and the Western society as a whole, there are many societal pressures that may have an influence on the decision made an individual. If an individual chooses the wrong decision, then one is likely to face severe punishment, criticism, or rejection from the other members of the society. Teenage pregnancy falls in such kind of decisions in the society. This is based on the fact that people may look at a teenage pregnancy as an act that is deviant from the values and norms of the society thus considered as a breakage to the norms of the society. The other societal reaction that are associated with teen pregnancy include conflicts with loved ones such as the parents and relatives, which results from hurt, anger, disapproval, which may result in emotional distress. Unplanned teen pregnancies are associated with impulsive decision making, which is based on the effects from society, parents, school, and peers. These aspects of the society influence the teens’ decisions to indulge in abortion as it enables the teen to avoid such pressures from the family members and the entire society.

Conclusion

good

In conclusion, teenage abortion among the American teens has been on the decline since 1980s. This has been attributed to the reduction in the pregnancy rates. In overall, the black teens have higher rates of pregnancies, and abortion, followed by Hispanic teens, and the least rates of pregnancies and abortion are encountered among white teens. Furthermore, older teens of the ages between 17 and 19 wages have higher abortion rates than younger teens of between 15 and 17 years. There are several factors that are associated with the teen’s decision to perform abortions. These include peer group behavior, teen’s socioeconomic status, and access to services involved in family planning, educational level, and religious beliefs. The major causes of teenage abortions among the teens in the American society include peer pressures, influences of the society, the quest for furthering education, self-esteem.

Worked cited

Belinda, Luscombe. “New Data: Teen Pregnancy, Abortion on the Rise.” time.com. Jan. 26, 2010. Retrieved from: < http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1956645,00.html >

Linda, Lowen. “Why Teens Choose Abortion: How Parental Involvement, Abortion Access, Educational Aspirations Play a Role.” about.com. May 27, 2009. Retrieved from: http://womensissues.about.com/od/teenpregnancy/a/TeenAbortReasons.htm

James B. Kelleher, Editing by Cynthia Johnston. “Teen pregnancy, abortion rates at record low, study says.” reuters.com. Feb 8, 2012. Retrieved from: < http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/us-teen-pregnancy-idUSTRE8171J020120208>.

Cause Effect – Research Paper Rubric

Elements – (40 pts)

________(10) Original Draft of research paper with editing input
________ (5) Cover / Title Page includes Title, your name, date, instructor, class
________(10) Table of Contents – Outline format with corresponding page numbers
________(15) 2 non-text visuals – properly introduced, labeled, and explained

Citation – (40 pts)

________(10 pts) MLA Essay Format
__________(15) In-text Citations – cited accurately (at least 6 sources – with at least one
Citation from your original Survey).

________(15) Works Cited Page – a minimum of 6 academic sources (one of which must
include your primary research (Survey)).

Content – (100 pts)

________ 5 pages of written Content (does not include charts)

________ Thesis Statement – Introduces narrowed topic (the Situation) and the

Causes And / or Effects of that situation.

________ Gives BACKGROUND HISTORY of the situation being analyzed

________ Introduces and Explains each important Cause / Effect

________ Supports each Cause / Effect with specific evidence and research

support (explaining and responding to research source info)

________ Incorporates Primary Research effectively – explaining charts

________ Conclusion – Restates Thesis Statement, summarizes main

Causes / Effects and leaves audience with a final idea about the

research topic.

Accuracy / Style (20 pts )

________Grammar
________Clarity and Fluency of ideas
________Spelling and Punctuation

Primary Research Appendices (50 pts)

________Survey – includes 1)original survey, 2)tabulation results, and
3) 2 charts/graphs

Overall Grade: (250 pts)__________

The effects of poverty on education in America

Ziyue Zhang

Ms. Clowser

EFLN 170

December 8, 2012

Table of Contents

I. Introduction 1

Ii. Background 1-2

Iii. Health of Children in Poverty 2-3

A. Physical Health 2

B. Mental Health 2-3

Iv. Parental Behavior 3-6

A. Parents’ Attitudes 3

B. Time Spent 3-6

V. Neighborhoods 6-7

A. Physical Conditions 6

B. Economic Resources 6-7

Vi. Conclusion 7

Vii. Works Cited 8

Viii. Appendix 9-11

A. Original Survey with Tabulation Data 9

B. Non-Text Visuals 10-11

Ziyue Zhang
Ms. Clowser
EFLN 170

Dec. 8, 2012

The effects of poverty on education in America

In China, we have saying that “children from poor families will become independent

earlier than children from non-poor families.” We believed that children from poor families

usually work harder and get better academic achievements than children from non-poor

families. However, it seems the phenomenon is completely different in the U.S. According to

national datasets, “Simple comparisons between children in poor family and non-poor family

showed that poor children were more likely to do worse on school achievements than non-poor

children were” (Brady-Smith, Fauth, and Brooks-Gunn 1909). In other words, poverty has

negative influences on children’s education outcomes which can be divided into three aspects,

health of children in poverty, parental behavior, and neighborhoods effects.

Here is some background information about child poverty in the U.S. from Christy

Brady-Smith, Rebecca C. Fauth, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn:

Although the percentage of children ages 18 and under living in poverty in the

United States dropped from 18.9 percent in 1998 to 16.9 percent in 1999,

children in the United States are more likely to be poor than any other age group.

Moreover, U.S. child poverty rates are well above those in other industrialized

nations, such as Spain, Canada, and Australia. Put simply, 12.1 million children in

the United States are living in families with earnings at or below the conservative

income poverty line, indicating they are likely to be lacking the finances to fund

basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing (1910).

Based on these facts that children suffered from poverty was a big issue to American

government. Poor children don’t have enough money to neither have good health care nor

receive high quality education. Life for them should be really tough. Here I mainly focus on the

three effects of poverty on education.

The first effect is that poverty can cause children’s health problems, which have bad

influence on children’s academic outcomes. The health problem both appear on physical and

mental. The lack of medical care and nutrients impede the development of children’s brain.

Women with incomes below the established poverty line were more probably to give birth to

the infants whose weights were lower than those given by the women with incomes above the

poverty line. And children with low birth weight show more impairments in spatial skills,

memory, and language. What’s more, the exposure of lead poisoning represents heightened

risk for poor children which will decrease IQ and has various physical impairments (Brady-Smith,

Fauth, and Brooks-Gunn 1911). As for mental health, there is a negative link between income

and behavior problems. Smith, Fauth and Gunn explained that children’s behavior problems can

be classified into two types: externalizing (undercontrolled) behaviors such as fighting, and

internalizing (overcontrolled) behavior such as depression (1912). Data from both the Infant

Health and Development Program and the National Longitudinal Survey indicated that

“kindergarten-aged children growing up in persistently poor homes had substantially higher

internalizing behavior problem scores than their peers who were never poor. Lower self-esteem,

which is related to internalizing problems, most notably depression, may also result from

persistent poverty” (Brady-Smith, Fauth, and Brooks-Gunn 1912). In my opinion, children’s

behavior problems may be influenced by the poor living condition they have. For example, girls

wearing worn-out or out of fashion clothes probably will be looked down by those girls from

non-poor families. Having lived in discrimination for a long time will definitely cause depression

or being self-abased. Besides the living condition, parental behavior is another influencing

factor.

Poverty changes the way of parenting. According to the family stress model which tests

the indirect links between poverty and children development, the effects of poverty in

parenting style would be less consistent, less supportive, less involved, and more coercive and

harsh. These changes in parent-child communicative style would cause more behavior and

school-related problems. Besides parenting style, another thing is mental depression. The

higher incidences of maternal depression and distress in poor families, the more internalizing

and externalizing behavior problems children have. That means that children would suffer from

the emotional detachment and disengagement from mental depression (Brady-Smith, Fauth,

and Brooks-Gunn 1913). Parents play the most significant role in shaping the personality of

children. So the parents’ attitudes towards life are closely related to the education outcomes.

The time spent is another factor that may be related to the income level. Greg J. Duncan and

Richard J Murnane explained in the book whither opportunity: “The most enduring and

consistent finding in the time-use literature is that reading to young children is positively

associated with children’s verbal skills” (217). I try to find the relationships between the parents’

income level, frequency of reading to children, and the children’s verbal ability. So I took a

survey from 40 California State University Chico students. The following graphs indicate the

results.

Table 1 How many times do your parents read to you each week?

(Zhang)

In table 1 and table 2, the different colored bars indicate different parents’ annual

income level. Before I did the survey, I expected the relationships are positive. However, it

turned out that my expectations were wrong. It can be seen from table 1 that in each income

level group, the percentage of students who chose “more than 5” is the highest and there is no

linear relation between these two factors. So I can conclude that the frequency of reading is not

relevant to income level and the majority of families spend lots of time reading to their children.

17%

30%

25%

40%

12.

50%

37.50%

50%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

none 1–2 3–5 more than 5

below 30,000

30,000-70,000

70,000-100,000

Table 2 What is your average GPA on the classes related to verbal ability?

(Zhang)

In table 2, the percentages of students who get GPAs over 3.0 in verbal classes are 67%,

75% and 75% respectively in the income group below 30,000, 30,000-70,000 and 70,000-

100,000. Another fact is that the more money parents earn, the more percentages of students

8%
25%

59%

8%
0%
25%
30%

45%

25% 25%

50%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%

70%

below 2.5 2.6-3.0 3.1-3.5 higher than 3.5

below 30,000
30,000-70,000

70,000-100,000

annual income
/GPA below 30,000 30,000-70,000 70,000-100,000

below 2.5 8% 0% 0%

2.6-3.0 25% 25% 25%

3.1-3.5 59% 30% 25%

higher than 3.5 8% 45% 50%

chose “higher than 3.5”. After analyzing these results, I have some discoveries. In those families

which parents spent more than 5 times a week reading to children, the academic outcomes of

verbal classes was different. To be more specific, under the same amount of time, the higher

income level was the more effective the reading was. The causes of this result would be the

differences between the books they used, the way they read the book, and the comments they

gave after reading. Maybe the parents with higher income have better education backgrounds

which gave them better ideas about how to guide the children appropriately. All in all, the

conclusion of my survey is income level doesn’t influence the time of reading but the outcomes

of children’s verbal skills.

What’s more, poverty also affects living community conditions—neighborhoods. The

neighborhoods effects influence the children education outcomes through two parts—the

physical conditions and economic resources. When analysis the results of neighborhoods

physical conditions, there is a term called “neighborhood distress”, which is measured by the

amount of obsolete buildings, crime, violence, and lack of policing. According to the survey of

Katherine Alaimo, the reports of neighborhood distress were related to the reports of

adolescent school problems. Another similar result was found that neighborhood quality can

predict the reading achievement instead of math achievement of Latino teenagers (135).

Economic resources focus on the level of residents’ position in the community. If parents have

to live in a low quality community, the people live in that community are more likely to be low-

status residents who can give negative effects to children’s behavior in schools. For example,

Ellen M. Ensminger and Peter Lamkin, found “male African American high school students in

Chicago who lived in neighborhoods with fewer than 40 percent of residents employed in

white-collar jobs were three-and-a-half times as likely to drop out of high school” (216). Also

examining neighborhood effects on African American students, Robert T. Williams found that

“students’ perceptions of neighborhood resources were associated with intention to finish high

school, grade point averages, and being suspended from school” (408). In conclusion, the

neighborhoods effects are associated with the school outcomes of children, such as graduation

rate, reading and math test scores, and the time spent on homework. The family income level

determines the quality of both physical conditions and economic resources to some degree.

All above is my research about the effects of poverty on children’s education outcomes.

Poverty does have negative influences on children’s education outcomes though three aspects,

which are the health of children, parental behavior, and the neighborhoods. What I learned

from the research was that the child is one of the vulnerable groups in the society and everyone

in the society should contribute something to help poor children out. Government may increase

their spending on child care and education. Parents should try their best to avoid the effects of

poverty as many as possible. As for children, my suggestion would be that appreciate what you

have, make the best of them, and live positively.

Works Cited

Alaimo, Katherine, et al. “Neighborhood Social Capital, Poor Physical Conditions, and School

Achievement.” Children & Schools 30.3 (2008): 133-145. Academic Search Premier. Web.

1 Dec. 2012.

Brady-Smith, Christy, Rebecca C. Fauth, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. “Children and Adolescents.”

Poverty and Education. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002: 1910-1914. Web. 13

Nov. 2012.

Duncan, Greg J. Murnane, Richard J. “parenting, time use, and disparities in academic

outcomes.” whither opportunity. 2011. 207-228.

Ensminger, Ellen. M, Peter Lamkin. “School leaving: A longitudinal perspective including

neighborhood effects.” Child Development: 215-219. Web. 1 Dec. 2012.

Williams, Robert T. “Friends, Family, and Neighborhood: Understanding Academic Outcomes of

African American Youth.” Urban Education. 2002. 408-431. Web. 1 Dec. 2012.

Zhang, Ziyue. Personal survey. 6 Dec. 2012.

Appendix

Survey about Children Education

Thank you for taking time to compete this survey. This survey is designed for my research paper
about the effect of family income on children education outcomes. Your response that contributes to

the results will be used in my paper. This survey should only take you about 2 minutes and your answers

will be completely anonymous.

Please answer the following questions by circling one:

1. You are ______.

A. Male B. female

(16) (24)

2. How old are you?

A. Below 18 B. 18—20 C. 21—24 D. more than 24

(4) (13) (12) (11)

3. How much is your parents’ annual income?

A. below 30,000 B. 30,000—70,000 C.70,000—100,000 D. over 100,000

(12) (20) (8) (0)

4. How many times do you parents read to you each week?

A. none B. 1—2 C. 3—5 D. more than 5

(2) (9) (11) (18)

5. Do you have a reading habit?

A. Yes B. No

(29) (11)

6. What is your average GPA on the classes related to verbal ability?

A. Below 2.5 B. 2.5-3.0 C.3.1-3.5 D. higher than 3.5

(1) (10) (15) (14)

Comments____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your time!

Table 1 How many times do your parents read to you each week?

Table 2 What is your average GPA on the classes related to verbal ability?

8%
17%
25%
50%
5%
30%
25%
40%
0%

12.50%

37.50%
50%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
none 1–2 3–5 more than 5
below 30,000
30,000-70,000
70,000-100,000
8%
25%
59%
8%
0%
25%
30%
45%
0%
25% 25%
50%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
below 2.5 2.6-3.0 3.1-3.5 higher than 3.5
below 30,000
30,000-70,000
70,000-100,000

annual income
/GPA below 30,000 30,000-70,000 70,000-100,000
below 2.5 8% 0% 0%
2.6-3.0 25% 25% 25%
3.1-3.5 59% 30% 25%
higher than 3.5 8% 45% 50%

School budget cuts and education in the U.S.

Aya Fujita

Ms. Clowser

EFLN 170

5 December 20

Fujita 1

Table of Contents

I. Introduction― The situation of the budget cuts on campus had been caused by the 1

financial crisis since 2007.

II.

The causes of the budget cuts problem

A. Rose up the default rate in housing and housing financial sectors 1

B. The Subprime loan problem

C. Strong relation between property tax and state revenue

III. The situation of the budgets cuts

A. Example: Washington state 3

IV.

The effects in school and measure by the Federal government

A. Inferior quality of school program and services 4

B. Many teachers and faculty laid off 4

C. Fiscal policies by the Federal government 6

V. Conclusion－The cause-and-effect of budget cuts and what I learned

VI. Works Cited 9

VII.

Appendix

Comment [C1]: Table of Contents

includes the Works Cited page and the

Appendix

Fujita 1

Aya Fujita
Ms. Clowser
EFLN 170
5 December 2011
School budget cuts and education in the U.S.

“We are 99 percent!” One day, I found a bunch of protesters by faculty the center of

campus. The teachers and staffs were screaming together with signs that said slogans and

placed blame. I felt it was weird and out of the ordinary. The budget cuts have caused

unemployment of faculty. Some campuses of the Cal State system reduced employed

lecturers 20 percent or more, though lecturers account for more than half

of all the faculty. Lecturers who have Ph.D are expected to specialize to teach their expert

field not research for themselves (Lum 6). The reason obviously is the financial crisis,

which began in 2007. As this crisis has deepened, state budgets especially education

spending has been squeezed more and more. How has the financial crisis affected the

education budget cuts in the U.S.? What problems has the budget cut caused in our

educational system? How did the federal and state government deal with the problem of

the budget cuts?

The causes of the budget cuts problem

At first, I describe the cause of the financial crisis, especially so-called Subprime loan

Comment [C2]: Color Coding =

Yellow – writers voice

Green – In-text citation information

Grey – Paraphrased source information

Pink – Direct quotes from sources

Fujita 2

problem. The end of prolonged run-up in residential real estate in 2007 triggered the crisis.

Ashok Bardhan explains how the crisis had spread out all over the U.S., a downturn in

housing prices led to rising foreclosures, then, enterprises government owned, private

investment banks and financial companies securitized their assets back according to

collapsing real estate (1). “CDO (collateralized debt obligations) and other issuance went

up from $20 billion in 2004 to $180 billion in late 2006. The national amount of

outstanding credit default swaps reached $69 trillion. Thus the whole financial sectors

including the credit market were getting nonfunctional and insolvent” (Bardhan 1). This

is the brief cause of the spread of the financial crisis. Why did the woes spread all over the

U.S. as well as around the world?

Secondly, I would like to clarify the linkage between the housing market and the U.S.

economy. Bardhan describes the U.S. housing market is significant and has played an

important role from a view of demographics; this sector is also bound up with housing

finance, global finance, and shadow banking system(2). Gregory Mankiw explains this

problem from the view of macroeconomics, the Federal government lowered interest

rates to historically lower levels after the recession in 2001, which made the borrowers

easier to get a mortgage and buy a home. It contributes to rising in housing prices (332).

This is why and how housing market is likely to be affected by the shock of the economic

Fujita 2

systems.

As a third cause for the budget cuts in every state, one big issue is housing tax for

revenue in states. In addition, education spending is different between each state in the

U.S. Alyson Klien, in her article “Recession’s Toll On Education Budgets Proves Both

Widespread And Uneven”, demonstrates about this, though educational spending usually

accounts for more than a half of their budgets, except only a few unscathed states, almost

of all have been struggling terrible fiscal damages to which complex and regional factors

contribute to the worst economic crisis. This great recession has been enormously

widespread all over the United States though there are some differences in degree. A few

states with more agricultural economies or energy based economies protected them from

the funding effects of economic downturn. In some states that bore the brunt of the

foreclosure crisis in the housing market, the economic situation is particularly dire,

including Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada. The impact on pre-collegiate

education is due to the strong link between property taxes and school funding (19).

The situation of the budget cuts

Therefore, because of the financial crisis, which the subprime loan problem originally

caused, at least 46 states plus the District of Columbia have been struggling to close

budget shortfalls and the effects of the recession. Sean Cavanagh suggests examples of

Fujita 2

severe budget cuts. ”Washington state officials suspended programs to reduce class size

and provide professional development for teachers saving $78.5 million and to $15.6

million”(6). I construct the following paragraphs for three effects, the problem in schools,

unemployment, and fiscal policies by the Federal government.

The effects in school and measure by the Federal government

The budget cuts have directly affected school programs and services. Klien suggests

Nevada to be said as an example of severe effects by the budget. Nevada, which

experienced the biggest housing boom, is still suffering from squeezing revenue and has

already taken drastic action. Many districts had to cut after-school classes like art, music

and drama. McBride, Lawrence, and Braun provide us some board members’ opinion.

They have removed the transportation and custodian services in a school in Michigan. A

school located in a valley is struggling significantly with decreases in enrollment, because

of higher gas prices and more leaving families in Idaho (13). Students and their family

also have to bear higher tuition. In Michigan, the education funding had run up from $154

to $7162 per student (Klien 17). A student at a California State University says her tuition

fees have skyrocketed more than 50 percent from her freshman year up to $4840 (Lum 8).

The other serious effect is many teachers and faculties have been laid off in many states.

The largest district in Nevada laid off more than 500 school employees in 2010 (Klien 18).

Fujita 2

Lum describes the situation in California, three higher education institutions, University

of California, California State University and California Community College have laid

off stuff, cut faculty pay and reduced the number of courses offered. Cal State University

employed less than 2100 lecturers, which accounts for 16 percent less (7). I took the

survey for 30 California State University Chico students about consciousness for this

problem. The following chart shows the results of the survey questionnaire.

(Fujita, Aya, 2011)

According to Table 1, first of all, in the question 1 and 3, ”The budget cuts have affected

your decision for your course” and “The courses and faculties in your department have

been getting less,” more than half of students agreed with these statements. This indicates

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

14
12

11
8

9 13
7

3
3

4
5

1
2

2
0

Strongly

Disagree

Not Sure

Agree

Strongly Agree

Table 1

Comment [C3]: Table 1 correctly

introduced, labeled , and cited.

Fujita 2

the number of courses and faculties have decreased, which caused their decision for

courses. Moreover, 86.6% of the students agreed with the question 2 “You feel some

decrease in quality of programs and services”. Thirdly, we can see clearly most students

in California feel their “state has been damaged seriously” because of the crisis.

Though education differs from state to state, even district to district, the Federal

government cannot leave burgeoning unemployment alone without taking

countermeasures.

Finally, I illustrate the fiscal policies of the Federal government took place as the third

effect. Cindin and Leo suggest a fiscal stimulus by the Bush Administration’s Keynesian

turn of a $150 billion. It is evaluated that this has stimulated at the Federal level, but not

been done at the state level due to their massive dependence on property taxes.(28)

In comparison to the fiscal policy by Bush Administration, Cavanagh discusses about

the ARRA by the Obama Administration,

The financial duress would almost certainly have been much worse had it

not been for an unprecedented infusion of emergency federal aid over the

past two years, most notably some $100 billion in education funding

through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the $787 billion

economic-stimulus package passed by Congress in 2009 at the urging of

Comment [C4]: This paragraph is an

explanation of the content of the Chart.

Comment [C5]: Block Quote (Long

quote) Ten space indentation.

Fujita 2

President Barack Obama (7).

Due to the variance in need, the government has to weigh the amount each state and

district needs from this act. According to the Chart.2 from my survey, the surveyed

students’ opinions were split over government policy. 40 percent of the surveyed students

agreed with the statement, “The government should provide more subsidies for each state

even though our taxes will go up,” but 27 percent disagreed with the statement.

(Fujita, Aya, 2011)

Conclusion: the cause-and-effect of budget cuts and what I learned

In summary, the Subprime loan problem and housing collapse triggered the financial

Strongly

Agree

20%

Agree
20%

Not Sure

33%

Disagree

17%

Strongly

Disagree

10%

Q5: The government should provide more subsidies for each state

even though our taxes will go up.

Table 2

Fujita 2

crisis and serious recession that has spread across the U.S. since 2007. The property tax

represents an important part in state revenue. The default problem has squeezed the state

budget. During this time of crisis, the education budget has been reduced, which has

caused many serious problems. Some notable effects of the budget cuts are less courses,

extracurricular activities and higher tuition. The dismissal of many teachers and faculty is

another more serious issue. Many professors who have Ph.D lost their position. The

Federal government proposed policies and put the ARRA in effect as protective measures.

They should have acted earlier to prevent some of the serious effects that we are

experiencing now such as reduced faculty and less courses. Additionally, the government

should consider the need state by state.

I read many articles, books related with the financial crisis and the educational system

in the U.S. in order to deepen the comprehension of the cause and effect of this problem.

All of the processes to complete this research paper became a good experience for me.

Also, I understand how the budget cuts problem is serious because it has caused various

effects on many lives of students and faculty. I hope this situation would get better soon at

least before the faculty’s anger reach the peak ‘100 percent’.

Fujita 2

Works Cited

Bardhan, Ashok. “Housing And The Financial Crisis In The US: Cause Or Symptom?”

Vikalpa: The Journal For Decision Makers 34.3 (2009): 1-7. Business Source

Premier.Web.26.Oct.2011.

Cavanagh, Sean. “Educators Regroup In Recession’s Aftermath”. Education Week,

Vol.30 Issue 16, p6-10, 5p, 13.Jan.2011. Academic Search Premier, EBSCO. 19

Oct.2011

Cindin, Sam, and Leo Panitch. “Perspectives On The U.S. Financial Crisis.” Canadian

Dimension 42.4 (2008): 28-31. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.

Fujita, Aya. Personal Survey. Nov. 2011.

Klien, Alyson. “Recession’s Toll On Education Budgets Proves Both Widespread and

Uneven.” Education Week 30.16 (2011): 16-19. Academic Search Premier. Web.

24Oct.2011

Lum, Lydia. “A Cut Below.” Diverse: Issues In Higher Education 26.25 (2010): 6-9.

Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.

Mankiw, Gregory, N. Macroeconomics. New York: Worth Publisher, 2009.

McBride, Linda L., Robert Lawrence, and Randal Braun. “Budget-Cutting Season Is

Upon Us.” American School Board Journal 195.7 (2008): 12-13. Academic

Comment [C6]: Works Cited starts on its

own page. Title of Works Cited is

centered one inch down from the top.

Comment [C7]: All Source entries are

listed Alphabetically by authors last

name or title of Article, if there was no

author named.

Comment [C8]: NOTICE: You must cite

your Survey in your Works Cited page.

You are the “author”. ; )

Fujita 2

SearchPremier.Web.1Nov.2011.

Appendix

Fujita 2

Table.1,

Table.2

0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
5
18
14
12
11
8
9 13
7
3
3
4
5
1
2

1 2
0

2
0

Strongly Disagree

Disagree
Not Sure
Agree
Strongly Agree

Fujita 2

Strongly Agree

20%
Agree
20%
Not Sure
33%
Disagree
17%
Strongly
Disagree
10%

Q5: The government should provide more subsidies for each

state even though our taxes will go up.

Surname 1

Table of Contents

Causes of Teenage Abortion in United States

Introduction

Background Information

Causes of Teen Abortion

Peer Influence

Self-esteem

Continuation with Education

Societal pressure.

Conclusion

Worked cited

Appendix

Name:

Proffessor:

Course:

Date:

Causes of Teenage Abortion in United States

Introduction

The rate of abortion among teenagers of between 15 years old and 19 years old has been declined. The decline of teenage abortion between 1990 and 2008 has been statistically shown to be about 56 percent. According to a study carried out by Child Trends Data Bank, the decline in the rates of abortion has been common for both younger and older teens (Child Trends DATA BANK, 1). In the American society, about one quarter of all teen pregnancies are ended through abortion. The research carried out by Child Trends Data Bank thus found out that teens resort to abortion because of several reasons which include peer influence, intentions to further education, issues of self-esteem, and pressure from societal factors. This paper is going to focus on the causes that are rooted in the teen abortion in the American society.

Background Information

Abortion refers a deliberate act of terminating of a human pregnancy, which is normally undertaken within the initial 28 weeks of a pregnancy. According to a research carried out by Gutmacher Institute, 18 % of the women that obtain abortions in the U.S. are teenagers. The research further indicated that more than half of all abortions in United States are done by young women of around 20 years of age (Guttmacher Institute, 1).

According to American government records, an increase of teenage abortion was experienced during the 1970s (Luscombe, 1). It however stabilized in the years of 1980s at around the rate of 43 females per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 years old and 19 years old. A decline was then experienced to a rate of about 18 females per every 1,000 females by the year 2008. Though great declines have been experienced in the case of older teenagers, there has been a general decline even for the younger teens.

In the case of the different ethical\ETHNIC communities in the U.S population, rates for black, white, and Hispanic women have shown a substantial fall since the 1990s. However, for the case of Hispanic women, the decline started at a later time which was round 1993. In the case of white teens, the rates of abortion have decreased by about 68 percent. The second highest decrease in abortion rates is the case of the Hispanic teens, which is about 52 percent. In the case of black teens, the abortion rate has fallen by about 49 percent. The above decreases in rates are relative to the times when abortion rates were at their peaks (Kelleher, 1).

In terms of age difference, the rates of abortion for older teens are higher than the abortion rate for younger teens. In this connect, younger teens are teens of15 years and below and their rate of teen abortion was about 0.6 per every 1,000. On the other hand, teens whose ages range between 15 and 17 years reported a rate of 10.4 per every 1,000. For older teens whose ages range between 18 and 19 years old, the abortion rate was 28.6 per every 1,000 teens. However, though the data indicated that older teens had higher abortion rates than the younger teens, the proportion of teenage pregnancies that were likely to be aborted was twice as high in the case of younger teens as compared to older teens.

Causes of Teen Abortion

Peer Influence

The first cause of teenage abortion is peer pressure. Teens are affected by peer pressure because of the notion that allows teen to be accepted in certain groups. All teens feel peer pressure to have sex even in their younger ages to allow them fit in their friend’s groups. Teen involvement in sexual activities is largely influenced by peer pressure. However, the susceptibility of the effect of peer pressure is different for different teens. Some teens are more susceptible to peer pressure than others. The most susceptible teens who are socially isolated in society. Thus increasing the chances of an unwanted pregnancy, which may end by abortion.

Self-esteem

Teenage pregnancy is associated with immorality in the America community. Teenage pregnancy is thus with shame. In the case of an occurrence of an unwanted teen pregnancy. Teens prefer an abortion as opposed to being known and seen by the general public for being pregnant. Teenage pregnancy could act as a teenage girl’s immorality. Furthermore, high school girls that manage to keep their children are subject to pity and gossip among other students in school. It is clear that there are self-esteem issues that are associated with teenage pregnancy in the American society.

Pregnant teens are faced with feelings of depression, shame, denial, guilt, and anger as in the following case involving a pregnant teen “I think I cried every night of my pregnancy. I felt a roller coaster of emotions: happy, excited, anxious, scared, betrayed, angry, confused, and then alone. I think the emptiness I felt at the end was the worst feeling of all. No one to share this ‘beautiful’ time of my life with—no friends, no supporting family, no boyfriend. For nine months the only person I had to talk to was the unborn child in my growing belly” (Wirkus, 5). Negative self-esteem is associated with future employment and financial problems. Teens are also faced with challenges of facing friends, family members, and parents on the issue of pregnancy (Lowen, 1). All these issues are likely to cause the withdrawal of the pregnant teen from the society. A teen would thus prefer an abortion as a way of keeping and maintaining self esteem.

Continuation with Education

Having the relevant education is a factor that determines the future life of an individual in the United States Society. This aspect of education thus has effect on abortion choices among American teens. Teens prefer abortion so as to get the chance to continue with education. For teens who have worries that they may be negatively affected if they drop out of school, the decision on whether or not to undertake and abortion largely controlled by educational ambitions (Wirkus, 5). This is because giving birth to their children has high chances of terminating of their educational aspirations and plans.

The disruption of educational plans and aspirations is associated with limiting of the teen’s better future lives and cuts away the potential of a better life (Lowen, 1). The risk of a teen living a future life full of suffering and raising of a child in poverty situations. On the other hand, teens who decide to undertake abortion may end up being successful in their education and probably end up forming families of higher socioeconomic status.

Societal pressure.

The other societal reaction that are associated with teen pregnancy include conflicts with loved ones such as the parents and relatives, which results from hurt, anger, disapproval, which may result in emotional distress. Unplanned teen pregnancies are associated with impulsive decision making, which is based on the effects from society, parents, school, and peers. These aspects of the society influence the teens’ decisions to indulge in abortion as it enables the teen to avoid such pressures from the family members and the entire society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, teenage abortion among the American teens has been on the decline since 1980s. This has been attributed to the reduction in the pregnancy rates. Overall, the black teens have higher rates of pregnancies, and abortion, followed by Hispanic teens, and the least rates of pregnancies and abortion are encountered among white teens. Furthermore, older teens of the ages between 17 and 19 wages have higher abortion rates than younger teens of between 15 and 17 years old. There are several factors that are associated with the teen’s decision to have an abortion. These include peer group behavior, teen’s socioeconomic status, and access to services involved in family planning, educational level, and religious beliefs. The major causes of teenage abortions among the teens in the American society include peer pressures, influences of the society, the quest for furthering education and self-esteem.

Worked cited

Belinda, Luscombe. “New Data: Teen Pregnancy, Abortion on the Rise.” time.com. Jan. 26,
2010. Retrieved from: < http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1956645,00.html >

Child Trends DATA BANK. Teen Abortions. 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=teen-abortions

GUTTMACHER INSTITUTE. Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States. October 2013.
Retrieved from: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html/

James B. Kelleher, Editing by Cynthia Johnston. “Teen pregnancy, abortion rates at record low,
study says.” reuters.com. Feb 8, 2012. Retrieved from: <

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/us-teen-pregnancy-

idUSTRE8171J020120208>.

Linda, Lowen. “Why Teens Choose Abortion: How Parental Involvement, Abortion Access,
Educational Aspirations Play a Role.” about.com. May 27, 2009. Retrieved from:
http://womensissues.about.com/od/teenpregnancy/a/TeenAbortReasons.htm

Wirkus, Julie. Teen Pregnancy. 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~shumow/iit/Teenage%20Pregnancy

Turn in your highest-quality paper
Get a qualified writer to help you with

“ research paper ”

Get high-quality paper

NEW! AI matching with writer

Still stressed with your coursework?

Get quality coursework help from an expert!

Order now