Modern Social Problems

MODERN SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Teenage Pregnancy

The high incidence of teenage pregnancy is the result of a decrease in the average age of menses , combined with increasing sexual activity among adolescents . Many health problems are affecting adolescents at younger ages . The decline in age at first intercourse has produced increased rates of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents

By the time they are 18 years old , 65 of boys and 51 of girls are sexually active . Approximately 50 of American adolescents do not use contraceptives the first time they have intercourse . Half of

premarital pregnancies occur within the first 6 months after sexual initiation

Each year 11 of adolescent women become pregnant , and 4 have an abortion .Adolescents who become pregnant while in high school are more likely to drop out of school , become dependent on welfare , and become single parents

Between 1950 and 1985 the no marital birth rate among adolescents younger than age 20 increased 300 for Whites and 16 for Blacks

Approximately 2 .5 million adolescents have had sexually transmitted diseases , and 1 in 4 sexually active adolescents will contract an STD before graduating from high school . STD rates are substantially higher among Black adolescents

The National Research Council estimates that , for each year a first birth is delayed , a family 's income when the mother reaches 27 is increased by 500 . Every year a first birth is delayed (up to age 20 the chances of a woman and her family having an income below poverty level are reduced by about 22 .The Children 's Defense Fund reports that women who first give birth as teens have about half the lifetime earnings of women who first give birth in their twenties

HIV /AIDS

It takes an estimated 5 to 10 years for the HIV infection to result in AIDS many young adults who have AIDS contracted the virus as adolescents

Approximately 20 of people identified as having AIDS are between ages 20 and 29 (AMA , 1991 .The United States spent about 10 billion on HIV-related activities in 1991

Hellinger (1990 ) estimates the direct medical costs of AIDS in 1991 to have been 5 .8 billion , with the cost of treating an HIV-infected person averaging 5 ,150 yearly and the cost of treating a patient with full-blown AIDS averaging 32 ,000 yearly

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC ) estimates that over 500 ,000 persons in this country are HIV infected and do not know it

The costs of HIV-related expenses are expected to continue rising until some type of cure or solution is found

Substance Abuse

The United States has become a chemical culture

The use and abuse of chemical substances exact an incalculable cost for substance abusers and non-abusers alike

In 1987 , it was estimated that 100 ,000 to 120 ,000 deaths are directly attributable to substance abuse , and another 120 ,000 to 150 ,000 deaths are substance abuse related

Many adolescents experience confusion and turmoil as they strive to achieve autonomy . Adolescents perceive taking psychoactive substances as on...