THE IMPACT OF TEENAGED PREGNANCY

Family development typically occurs in stages. Transitions from one stage to the next are critical periods in the family developmental process. A great number of factors may induce stress into a family environment that interferes with an orderly transition from stage to stage. This research is concerned with the effects of one healthrelated stressor, teenaged pregnancy, on the process of family development.

Adolescent pregnancy continues to be one of the most challenging public health issues in the United States (Jaskiewicz and McAnarney, 1994, p. 32). Annually, more than onemillion teenagers in the United States become pregnant, and onehalf of these teenagers give birth (StevensSimon, 1992, p. 295). Of the remaining 50 percent, from three to four fifths obtain therapeutic abortions, while the remainder abort spontaneously (StevensSimon, 1992, p. 295). Either birth or abortion can be stressful on a family.

The Teenaged Girl and the Family As Behavioral Systems

A teenaged girl is an individual behavioral system who, in turn, is a component of the larger family behavioral system. For individuals and for families, the external environment includes all forces (objects, events, and situations) capable of impinging on either the individual or the family (Fawcett, 1989, p. 191). For individuals, the internal environment involves the

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ation enables an individual to understand the surrounding environment. Adaptation occurs through the functioning of the mental processes of assimilation and accommodation (Turner and Helms, 1991, pp. 2627). Assimilation involves the perception and interpretation of new information within the context of existing knowledge and understanding. Accommodation is a more advanced process that involves the restructuring of mental organization in order to include new information. Assimilation and accommodation, along with equilibration and functional assimilation, are stageindependent conceptions in Piaget's cognitive theory of human development (Lerner, 1991, pp. 246250). Equilibration refers to the balance between the action of an organism on its environment and the action of the environment on the organism. Functional assimilation is the concept that explains why human development continues after equilibration has been attained. Piaget's cognitive theory of human development also includes stagedependent concepts (Lerner, 1991, pp. 250261). These five stages of human development are sensorimotor development, preconceptual thought, intuitive thought, concrete operations, and formal operations (Hill and Humphrey, 1992, pp. 272
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Hill Humphrey, Behavioral Systems, Turner Helms, Lewis Lewis, Kaplan Sadock, JeanGilles Crittenden, Holmes Rahe, Teenaged Pregnancy, Velasquez Ritchie, Scale SRRS, human development, 1991 pp, teenaged pregnancy, epstein 1986, life event, teenaged girl, 1990 pp, interpersonal conflict, behavioral system, life event changes, 1992 pp, turner helms 1991, theory human development, hill humphrey 1992, lerner 1991 pp,
Approximate Word count = 4497
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)

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