Alphonso Pinkney — страница 4

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the abortion rate increased from 66 in 1980 to 73 in 1987. In a 1970 study, white pregnant teenagers who were unmarried were about three time more likely than black to choose abortion. Pinkney states the pattern has changed significantly in subsequent years. Pinkney states, one of the significant differences between black and white adolescent mothers is that blacks are less likely that whites to place their babies for adoption. Studies show that 18 percent of white teenagers give up their children for adoption, but only 2 percent of blacks do. In some cases, adoption was hardly considered as an option for a largely black population. Pregnant teenagers who choose to place their children up for adoption rather than parent them did so because they thought the outcomes, such as their

continuing in school and assuring and adequate future as well as the baby’s development would benefit from their choice. Those who did not consider adoption felt that these outcomes would be more likely to happen if they parented or that he outcomes would not be affected by their choice. Those who elected to place their children for adoption were more advantage economically and held more positive attitudes about adoption than others. Studies show that black males are the most sexually active adolescent in the United States :they initiate sexual activity earlier and have more sexual partners than so black females and Hispanics and white adolescent Data on the fathers of children born to adolescent mothers are not extensive. However, national data indicate that in 1984

approximately 3 per cent of all lice births in the United States were fathered by males under the age of 20 and of the children born to teenage mother, 23 percent had teenage fathers. Studies show that adolescent fathers are more likely to have academic and other school problems, engage in aggressive antisocial behavior , t use drugs and to be involved in the criminal justice system. They are more likely to work at low status occupations and more likely to come from homes that are educationally and financially disadvantage. Pinkney states, that the data indicates that adolescent males are ill prepared for the responsibility of fatherhood and many voice concerns about vocational, educational, health, and family problems. In an national study, academic and drug problems as well as

general conduct problems were more common among adolescent fathers that among adolescent in general . Black teenage fathers, like teenage mothers, are younger than their white counterparts and are more likely to be unemployed than whites. Nearly one half of black women aged 15-17 lived with one parent and only 45 per cent lived with both parents. By comparison with their white counterparts 78 percent lived with both parents and 16 percent lived with the mother only. More black adolescents that whites lived in families below 100 percent of the poverty line: 41 percent of black women aged 15-21 in 1981 had family incomes below 100 percent poverty , compared with 14 percent of whites. By 1990, 73 percent of all children under 18 lived with both parents . Nearly one third lived with

parents who have never been married. Twelve percent of white mothers living alone with children were under the age of 25, 27 percent had less than a high school education and 36 percent were unemployed. For blacks 18 percent were under 25; 34 percent had less than high school education and 52 percent were unemployed . For Hispanics, the proportions were 15 percent ,55 percent and 54 percent. Pinkney states, that studies show that because teenage mothers are emotional immature, they place themselves and their babies at risk for medical problems. In addition, school aged children born to adolescent parents exhibit more behavioral problems and score lower on intelligence test than other school aged children. In conclusion, Pinkney states, that a basic problem of adolescent pregnancy

and childbearing is poverty. Given the nature of American society , it is difficult to foresee any positive outcomes for of adolescent childbirth, especially among minorities. Pinkney states, of all the industrialized countries , the Unites States alone has no consistent family planing policy. On substance abuse, Pinkney focused on both legal and illicit drugs. The legal drugs being alcohol and tobacco; the illicit ones being cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin. He discuss crack cocaine in some length because it is fairly new and believed to have the most serious adverse effect of any drug on both the individual involved and the larger society. Alcohol is potentially dangerous drug, but its sale and use are not prescribed and it is the major drug of choice in the United States.