What causes a teen to make a pregnancy pact and how does this effect their peers?
Psychological experts say that pacts among teens, adopted for any number of reasons, are actually quite normal. “Kids make pacts,” says Nadine Kaslow, chief psychologist at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and a professor at Emory University’s School of Medicine. “It’s kind of a way to feel like a part of an in group. It gives kids an identity they share.” But in some cases, the stakes are far higher than most parents know. While some teen pacts are relatively benign agreements, other such arrangements have been shown to involve much more dangerous behaviors — among them drug use and suicide. “Teen pact behavior — whether to get pregnant or to commit suicide — has the same underlying characteristics,” notes Dr. Carole Lieberman, Beverly Hills psychiatrist and a clinical faculty member at UCLA. “The act the teenagers conjure up together is forbidden and self-destructive, and therefore must be kept secret.” And as with many past instances of teen pacts — such as an April 2007 suici
My neighbor’s daughter is in a dilemna, because her 15 year old daughter had made a pregnancy pact with a few of her friends. Apparently they received the bright idea from the movie, Juneau. I told my neighbor to simply sit down with her daughter and just talk things through. A 15 year old does not factor in the true cost and how much the kid will be setting back everyone’s lives. I think a pregnancy pact causes serious peer pressure and clearly sends the message that pregnancy is okay. These teens need to be taught social responsibility. The problem with teens having kids is that they are never the one’s taking care of them. It’s always Social Services or the parents of the teen. The government should tax people having kids, not giving them a deduction. Just my opinion. Sources: It is your opinion.
