The teen pregnancy rate has been coming down in the United States, but is still much higher than in other Western industrialized nations. What accounts for this difference?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Almost the entire decline in pregnancies among older teens (18 and 19 years of age) can be attributed to an increased use of contraceptives. Among younger teens, about one quarter of the decline was due to reduced levels of sexual activity, and the remainder to increased reliance on contraception (Guttmacher Institute, 2014).  As you can see from Figure 6.10, despite the decline, the adolescent pregnancy rate in the United States is still considerably higher than in other Western and industrialized nations (Alford & Hauser, 2009; CDC, 2013g; Hamilton & Ventura, 2012).What accounts for this difference between countries? U.S. teens and European teens have similar levels of sexual activity, but European teens are more likely to use contraception than their U.S. counterparts and to use more effective methods (Guttmacher Institute, 2014). Schalet (2011) attributed the lower rates of adolescent births and abortions among adolescents in the Netherlands to several cultural differences. Dutch adolescents are less likely than American adolescents to grow up in poverty, and poverty is a risk factor for early childbearing. They also are more likely to have been educated on the use of contraception and to encounter fewer barriers if they want contraception or abortion services than American adolescents. Another important cultural difference is that Dutch parents are more accepting of adolescent sexuality in the context of a committed relationship which makes it easier for their adolescents to ask for advice or assistance when they need it. Schalet (2011) has argued that giving adolescents a sense of sexual autonomy gives them a greater sense of control over their sexuality and enables them to make better decisions.