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| Teen Pregnancy: Why the U.S. Lags Behind Europe | | Print | |
| Written by Joeprah | |
 Of all the industrialized countries in the world, the U.S. has, by far, the highest instance of teenage pregnancies with a rate that more than doubles the nearest competitors. After posting on the topic earlier this week, I did some further research and came up with some common sense answers as to why this is. One of the best sources I found was Advocates for Youth. Each summer since in 1998, Advocates for Youth and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte sponsor annual study tours to France, Germany, and the Netherlands to explore why adolescent sexual health outcomes are so much more positive in the three European countries than in the U.S. The following italicized bulleted points are from their most recent findings. Here I will go point and counter point with what the Europeans do successfully and our U.S. reality—buckle up!
In opposition to this statement, here in the U.S. there are countless reasons for young men and women to have low self-worth which contributes to their poor choices and decision making. As a metaphor, the legal age to drink alcohol in the U.S. is 21 while the average age in European nations is 18 for general drinking and 16 for drinking wine & beer. Some European countries have no minimum age for alcohol consumption. Plainly speaking, teenagers are treated and looked upon in U.S. culture as “kids” until they are over 21. So it goes without saying, “teens” are viewed differently in the U.S. than Europe and this rift may have some part to play in the rebellious mindset some U.S. teens have as they disregard what is in their best interest when making some critical life choices.
In the U.S., policy can be created, formed and most certainly influenced by lobbyist groups and religious organizations.
In the US there are few public education campaigns to confront the issues of teen pregnancy effectively. Government funded programs for low cost of free contraception don’t exist, and neither do consistent sexual education programs. Public education on the topic of sexuality is minimal to non-existent.
Cool campaigns prove to be more effective way to communicate with teens—go figure. Scare tactics are the typical ads that a U.S. teen sees which haven’t been proven to be effective.
The media in the U.S. is not “on board” with any one set of criteria or mindset that the government has deemed vital to success in battling teen pregnancy or dealing with the issue of safe sex. This can be seen in the recent “OK!” article done that glamorizes the situation of teen star Jamie Lynn Spears. In European countries there is a unified, team like effort to promote responsible behavior—there are familiar sexual education campaigns. Teens in the U.S. get many different messages from media sources which can only work to muddle any good information they may be receiving.
In public schools there is no set standard formula across the nation on how and when to implement sexual education in the United States. With various forms of sexual education that vary from teaching abstinence to teaching sexual education to teaching nothing at all, teens are often confused and or unprepared on how to approach the new topic of sex and sexual relations. In Europe sexual education is preemptive, while in the U.S. it is often too little and too late.
In the U.S. there is a stigma associated with “the dreaded talk” that parents have with their kids in regards to sex. It is seen as a comical onetime event where the parents fall flat on their faces trying to talk about something very important in nature.
In the U.S. there are so many different messages being sent to young people from the music they listen to, to the movies they watch, and to what their peers are doing that there is absolutely no clear “maxim” to speak of and certainly no feeling of sex being “stupid and irresponsible.”
Young people in the U.S. use terms like “pimp” loosely to describe different aspects of their lifestyles so it goes without saying that their views about sexual morality tend to be less mature and even warped. Of course, that is just a metaphor that illuminates a general attitude of males disrespecting females as acceptable and even trendy. Prevailing cultures like hip-hop and rock strongly impact the psyche of many U.S. teens and each of these cultures have been identified by loose moral standards and the objectification of women. How exactly does the U.S. compare in teen pregnancy rate to its European counterparts? Are the abortion rates higher in the European nations? Here are statistical comparisons between the U.S. and European nations in those key statistical areas.
  For all the statistics check out the Advocates for Youth website. What are your thoughts? Are we as a country lagging way behind our European counterparts? What lessons can be learned from them?
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Comments (9)
 
Brilliant post Joe. Sorry I've been a bit absent. Life is crazy so I'm on catch up. UK teen pregnancies are pretty high too I think, but I'm hoping my girls will do ok. I know I want to be the mum they can talk to, ask questions of and know I will answer them honestly. That's what I'm planning on being. It's scary though isn't it.
1
July 20, 2008
Votes: +0
I thought Canada's rate would be higher given that our abortions are free, but no.. Apparently in 2005, it was at 14.1%. Crazy.
Here's a link to an article with the stats: http://www.nationalpost.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=529729 "Birth rates among teenaged women has also continued to decline. In 1996, there were 18.6 live births for every 1,000 women under 20. By 2005, this had dropped to 11.1." What are we doing that you guys aren't? Probably sex ed... Btw, that second ad, the American one, was just ridiculous. What the hey does that mean? She got pregnant on the pill? What? No mention of std's either? You have 30 seconds to grab their attention. Get all the messages out, imo. IMO, a better ad would have been one person after another saying something different. Like "I got HIV," and "I got pregnant," and "I got the herp," etc and end with "Wear a condom." It's not about scaring, it's about telling the truth, which is what the European ad does. Anyway... as usual, I get heated on the subject... oh, and one other thing. The way we treat our girls, as I've mentioned in a previous comment, is where it begins, imo. Like the dad across the street from me who called his daughter a "f'ing dirty lying slut"? He just set her up for a lifetime of one night stands and meaningless body disrespect. Raise your daughters up so they might expect the same respect from elsewhere. 2
July 20, 2008
Votes: +0
As an American living in Germany for 6 years now, I've had a chance to experience the different views towards sexuality. Your points are all right, here are some things that I've noticed particularly:
- At the Leipzig zoo bonobo exhibit, at little kid height, was a cartoon explaining what the bonobos are doing when they are "playing" with themselves and each other. It was clearly made for 4-5 year olds and up with nice big colorful pictures for parents to explain if the kids couldn't read. It was detailed and honest. I thought it was wonderful and remarked at the time that you'd NEVER see something like that in the US. - Teens tell their parents when they are thinking about having sex for the first time. An American friend of mine with a 15 year old daughter (who grew up in Germany) just went through this and said while it was hard to get used to the idea (I can imagine), it was nice that they could have an open discussion about it. - The churches encourage using condoms, there is no abstinence "nonsense" (as one German put it to me) taught here. It's understood that teens are going to have sex and experiment as part of becoming an adult. It's interesting that sex and nudity is shown on TV here, but violence is not, while it is opposite in the US. Teen pregnancy AND violent crimes are lower here. Seems the Germans (and Europeans) are doing something right. 3
July 16, 2008
Votes: +0
Yo Joe, :p
So the American girls like to spread their legs, go figure! Could it all link back to the day when they were kept so busy beyond their years a toddler?? A major article in the news 10-15 or so years ago, and those of you old enough to remember know what I'm talking about. They are just trying to express themselves in a way they see themselves, that being as older at a younger age. The boys are only too happy to comply! -MileHighDad  http://www.milehighdad.com/ 4
July 15, 2008
Votes: +0
Interesting stuff. The charts are frightening. It seems that a conversation in the US is difficult because for a country so free we often can't talk freely.
5
July 15, 2008
Votes: +0
Wow! Joeprah,
Heavy-duty topic and excellent research! While I may not agree with every reason or solution posited, the NUMBERS DON'T LIE! Those graphs are an excellent visual aid to explaining the problem. well Done! Brennan 6
July 15, 2008
Votes: +0
well done bro. Excellent post, great research. I would love to see how a few variables impact the numbers. First, how does England compare? If different, culturally are they more like Europe or the U.S. Second, how does socioeconomic conditions impact the number, as well as first generation immigrant status? I believe, in conjunction to the points you have made, the U.S. has some very unique facets Europe does not. The largest being our heterogeneous society. Yes, Europe is increasingly heterogeneous, however it pales in comparison. Finally, the U.S. is saddled with it's Puritan ethic, which has permeated our society for years. Most states still have blue laws.
Nice job JoeP. I would love to see a follow up to this. thanks bro! 7
July 15, 2008
Votes: +0
We're always being told by the media that we have the highest rate in the UK! From a parenting point of view I'm aiming to be open and honest rather than saving it up for a 'big talk'. My son has just turned 4 and he's already asked how we get babies and explained that he is not playing with himself he's tickling his 'winkie' because it makes it happy - I got to answer the first question so I left the last statement to my OH (who probably said - don't do it in front of mummy! :grin )
8
July 15, 2008
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