Teen Marriages, Where the “Odds Against Success are Huge” Have you ever watched the show “Teen Mom” and wondered why most of the mothers aren’t with the father of their child? Well, most teens that get together don’t last very long, just like how teen marriages don’t last. Although not all of the couples on the show were married, most of them were together at one point and separated at one point as well. That’s just one example that shows that most teen marriages don’t end up lasting. Although they always seem to fail, teen marriages were very common in past times. Gordon B. Dahl states that “in Ancient Rome, the appropriate minimum age was regarded as 14 for males and 12 for females” (Dahl 689). Since these early marriages are so likely to fail, it leads to divorce. Dahl also states that “women who marry while in their teens are two/thirds most likely to divorce within 15 years of their marriage compared with women who postpone marriage” (Dahl 691). Such an early marriage was more appropriate back then than it is today. Now a days, most places have laws that forbid marriage under a certain age, without a certain sort of approval. Teens may think getting married at that point in their life is a good idea, but there are a few things that they don’t consider. Some of these things that cause the failure of teen
Dahl adds that “children of teenage mothers also have lower birth weights, have a higher rate of infant homicide, are often the victims of child abuse and neglect, have academic and behavioral problems in school, and are likely to engage in crime” (Dahl 691). The failure of teen marriages itself has caused a decline in teen marriages. Garber states that “the number of such marriages has declined, perhaps because young people realize that the odds against success are huge”
The birth rate among teens in the United States has declined 9% from 2009 to 2010, a historic low among all racial and ethnic groups, with the least being born in 2010; and in 2011 the number of babies born to adolescents aged 15-19 years of age was 329,797 (“Birth Rates for U.S.”, 2012). Although the decline in unwanted and unplanned teen births is on the rise the United States continues to be among the highest of industrialized countries facing this problem. This is a prevailing social concern because of the health risks to these young mothers as well as their babies. Teens at higher risk of becoming pregnant are raised at or below the poverty level by single parents; live in environments that cause high levels of stress (i.e., divorce, sexual psychological and physical abuse); are influenced by peers or family members that are sexually active; and lack parental guidance that would direct them to be responsible and self-controlled.
The amount of babies born from unplanned teenage pregnancies or out of wedlock is astounding. “If you are a boy,” you are “twice as likely to end up in prison as the sons of mothers aged 20 and 21. If you are a girl, you are three times as likely to become a teen mother yourself compared to mothers who had a child at age 20 or 21.” (Marcus, Ruth). “Statistics for teenage mothers themselves are similarly daunting. Only half obtain a high school diploma by age 22 compared to 89 percent of women who did not give birth as teenagers. Less than 2 percent of mothers who give birth before age 18 obtain college degrees by age 30. Half live below the poverty line -- and as their children grow older, the family 's chances of living in poverty increase” (Marcus,
When teen’s get pregnant do they really know the consequences and the changes that it causes their bodies to go through? Most teens go into their pregnancy
Now for the same number of people, there are over five divorces. Studies indicate that there is more divorce among persons with low incomes and limited education and those who marry at a very young age. Teenage marriages are much more likely to end in divorce than are all other marriages. And women who marry when they are over age 30 are the least likely to become divorced. There has been a decline in divorce in the number of couples who have children under 18.
It is not a new thought that today’s young Americans are facing issues, problems and difficult decisions that past generations never had to question. In a world of technology, media, and a rough economy, many young adults in America are influenced by a tidal wave of opinions and life choices without much relevant advice from older generations. The Generation Y, or Millennial, group are coming of age in a confusing and mixed-message society. One of these messages that bombard young Americans is the choice of premarital cohabitation. Premarital cohabitation, or living together without being married (Jose, O’Leary & Moyer, 2010), has increased significantly in the past couple of decades and is now a “natural” life choice before taking the plunge into marriage. Kennedy and Bumpass (2008) state that, “The increase in cohabitation is well documented,such that nearly two thirds of newlyweds have cohabited prior to their first marriage”(as cited in Harvey, 2011, p. 10), this is a striking contrast compared with statistics of our grandparents, or even parents, generations. It is such an increasing social behavior that people in society consider cohabitation “necessary” before entering into marriage. Even more, young Americans who choose not to cohabitate, for many different reasons, are looked upon as being “old-fashioned”, “naive”, or “unintelligent”. This pressure for young people to cohabitate before marriage is a serious “modern-day” challenge; especially when given research that states, “... most empirical studies find that couples who cohabited prior to marriage experience significantly higher odds of marital dissolution than their counterparts who did not cohabit before marriage”, stated by Jose (2010) and colleagues (as c...
According to the Council on Families In America, “for the average American, the probability that a marriage taking place today will end in divorce or permanent separation is calculated to be a staggering 60% and more than half of divorcing couples have children under the age of 18. The odds that a child today will witness the divorce of their parents, is twice as great as a generation ago, with as many as half of all children likely to experience a parental divorce before they leave home.”
Teenage girls often get pregnant and do not know the first step in becoming a mother. Normally, when a teenage girl gets pregnant, she is less likely to attend college according to “Women Issues” by Linda Lowen. Some mothers are not even sure who their baby’s father is and many babies get aborted. The majority of single teen mothers are living in poverty. “Almost all our teen mothers are low-income, poorly educated and low-skilled.” (CNN) One third of mothers actually have a college degree and 23.2% are unemployed. (www.singlemotherguide.com) People under the age of eighteen are still developing and are not ready to be
When my parents were my age, it was normal to get married because they were not stupid enough to get married just because they wanted to. Nowadays young adults get married just because they feel lonely and they want somebody to cuddle with at night. Our generation is so messed up that some of them get married just because they think that if they have someone special that is going to make them happy. Some people get married just because they think they are going to last forever and live happy for their rest of their lives. They think that is a fairy tale like how they make it look in the movies shown on the Disney channel. People should really think about what they are going to do because marriage is a huge step. Although there is no law that states what age someone can get married, I think that getting married younger than twenty-five can be a terrible mistake because the couple is probably immature, not stable and not committed.
About states: In Ancient Rome, girls married between the ages twelve and fourteen as well as some young men married at the age of fourteen also. However, during the middle ages, women married as early as fourteen. But men usually waited until they were well on their feet and able to support themselves as well as a wife. In 1371, the average age for women to marry was 16 and the average for men was 24. However the age changed in the year 1427 to men marry in their mid 30's and marrying women about half their age. (1) However that's when marriages were accepted by society.
In 2009, more than 400,000 of children from teen births were in foster care (Lieberman, 2014). Teens mother are more likely to experience financial hardship and have to struggle to provide financial support for their children (Lieberman, 2014). According to Dorlisa and Shandler (2011) “Teenage pregnancy and childbearing are social concerns because of economic and social cost” (p. 241). In United States, on average every teen mom age 17 and under costs taxpayers $4,080 yearly (Dorlisa and Shandler, 2011). Also, majority of teen mothers are under-paid; they earn $6,500 yearly making them dependent on public assistance (Dorlisa & Shandler, 2011). Pregnancy brings more financial troubles for teenagers; the cost of caring for a baby is extremely high. They are obligated to rely on their parents for financial support. Teenage pregnancy negatively impacts family and society. There is a strong correlation between teenage pregnancy and high school drop- out rates (Gyan, 2014). The relationship between education and early childbearing goes in both directions; pregnant teenagers are most likely to drop-out school, young girls who drop-out school are more prone to become pregnant (Gyan, 2013). Teenage pregnancy is a big concern for parents. Most teen mothers fail to earn a high school diploma; their educational achievement is very poor. Early parenthood is the leading cause of
Thesis Statement: Within America, there is a teen pregnancy epidemic across all socioeconomic backgrounds, presenting commonalities as to the causes and ramifications of adolescents emerging as a growing parental population.
26. Elizabeth Terry-Humen, Jennifer Manlove and Kristin A. Moore, “Playing Catch-Up: How Children Born to Teen Mothers Fare,” The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy/Child Trends, January 2005.
Marriage should be a mature and responsible decision; it should be a long-lasting commitment. People seem to take this commitment all too lightly in today's generation and it leads to high rates in early marriages. I strongly claim that early marriage is a violation of children's basic rights and to making decisions about their own lives. With the standards established up to date, marriage comes with manifold responsibilities; most of them teens are not prepared to handle. Nevertheless, marriage is a matter of choice, but would not it be better to wait a couple of years, so as not to regret the consequences, and not to pay dearly for mistakes?
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “Pathways to Adulthood and Marriage: Teenagers’ Attitudes, Expectations, and Relationship Patterns” Aspe.hhs.gov Web. 17 Nov. 2010.
Statistics show that in 1998, 2,256,000 couples became married, and 1,135,000 couples became divorced (Fast 1,2). For every two couples getting married, there is one that is getting divorced. In fact, half of ALL marriages end in divorce (Ayer 41). That is a sad reality to face. Those percentage rates increase as the age of the participant’s decrease. It seems these days, fewer and fewer teens between the ages of 14 and 18 are getting married. This is a change for the better. Teens are usually not prepared for marriage. Marriage comes with many responsibilities; most of which teens are not prepared to handle. “Early marriage, though possessing certain inherent dangers, is widely practiced in contemporary America” (Teenage 1). Even if teens feel they have the potential for a lasting marriage, they should still wait to become married.