Entry 5 - Draft 1

Annotated Bibliographies

Inquiry Question: What are the major influences of teenage sex and pregnancies?

1.    Website

MLA Cite: Clark, Sheila. “Parents, Peers, and Pressures: Identifying the Influences on Responsible Sexual Decision-Making.” National Association of Social Workers. Sept. 2001. Web. 24 Feb. 2012.

Summary: This website talks about many of the different and most-impactful influences of having sex, focusing on the younger teenage population of the world. When you’re ad adolescent you have come to sexual maturity and its normal to be curious and to want to know what is changing and the reasons for doing so. This source talks about how learning about sex is a necessary thing but there are often obstacles in the way that prevent the recipient from either getting the correct information or, in some cases, any information at all. Teenagers are often depicted as not making educated decisions or just going with a guy feeling not always caring about the outcome. However, sex and the results of sex are very life changing and can’t just be tossed aside. The author covers many ideas including four main influences of sex that are present in most everyone’s everyday lives, and therefore are most readily available to persuade a person to do something or not to do it.

Evaluation: This source is extremely credible and a great place to get information on both influences of teenage pregnancy and the possible outcomes of teenage sex. The author gives information from a good amount of other sources that are credible and really emphasize the things in her own way. Sheila know what she wants to portray through her article, and does a successful job illustrating points she feel are critical to know in order to be a properly educated teen facing these decisions on sex. This is a good website for the article and subject matter because it is a social worker website. Social workers are often put in charge of overseeing parenting skills and sometimes have to remove children from a harmful situation at home. I feel like they are a good resource for this kind of information on teenage sex because they get to see a lot of the bad outcomes of teen pregnancies when children are neglected.

      I could absolutely benefit from the information given from this source. Like I said before, it is a social workers website and I feel that means they have a lot of background working with kids, and sadly with children who have children (teenage parents) so they know what information is beneficial to teenagers who are thinking about having sex. They have seen 15 and 16 year olds with babies who regret having that unprotected sex, or adolescents with STDs who wish they had learned about the risks that can come along with sex. They know the ups and downs so I feel like they have the most pivotal information or opinions that could help educate teenagers more about sex. The author also portrayed a lot of my very own opinions and ideas into this website article. For instance the four main influences she talks about are the four that I have previously decided to focus in on most during my research.

2.    Journal

MLA Cite: Park, Alice. “Sex on TV Increases Teen Pregnancy, Says Report.” Time. 03 Nov. 2008. Web. 25 Feb. 2012.

Summary: The entry in this journal specifically talks about the effect media has on the teenage pregnancy rates. The amount that can be shown and inferred of sexual acts in the media, like television for example is high. This source says how sex is talked about and shown all around us, in movies, television, magazines, and advertisements, and because we see it so often and in so many different areas, we become used to it and desensitized. When sex is a part of the lead characters life in a show, teenagers may relate and especially for someone who hasn’t had encounters with sex, may think this is the norm. However, when they then go out into the world with a more promiscuous view on life then they should, it can put them at a greater risk for doing things they may not be entirely too comfortable with just because they think that’s the way everyone thinks and does.

Evaluation: This source is a credible source because it contains a survey where wide ranges of teenagers were surveyed. Over the course of three years they were asked the same questions to see as time went on and they grew up, how they thought the relationship between the amounts of sex depicted in media affected the amount of pregnancies in young kids was higher, the same or less. The author is very opinionated but I don’t think she is being biased. She has her information and I believe she wrote with an open mind, just wanted to get the results of her research out there to the public.

            Using the information given in this source would not be hard at all. It contains good information from real people over the source of three years. The people who were surveyed, their opinion could stay the same over time but they also could change if they really paid attention to the effect of the media on teenagers. This specific source could really help me because one of the topics I would like to cover is the influence of media on the early pregnancy rates, and that information is very well covered here. I feel that I could use this reliable source to back up my ideals and someone who was reading my material would actually believe the things I’ve said because of the source.

3.    Book

MLA Cite: Farber, Naomi. "Approaches to Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy." Adolescent Pregnancy: Policy and Prevention Services. New York: Springer Pub., 2003. Print.

Summary: This book overall is about the various influences of teenage sex and ultimately teenage pregnancy and how everything is preventable. The specific chapter I chose to focus in on and read through most was entitled “Approaches to Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy”. This talks about teens that are most vulnerable to pregnancy experience the most risk factors and because of this, have fewer amounts of protective factors. These risks are presented at all parts of their lives, both public and private and can make teens feel like there is no escape from the influences. Another main point this article covers is how and what we all can do to prevent young women from becoming pregnant and young men from father a child at such an early age.

Evaluation: This source is credible since Farber, who is an educated writer wrote the book. The Ph.D. she has and the fact she can be found as the author of a few other pieces of writing. The information I received from reading the selected chapter and some surrounding pages, would back up my opinion but at the same time would give some ideas from someone on the opposing side as me, or just someone who has varying opinions. She covers the fact that there is more we can do to help troubled young adults and teens from being over exposed to the idea of sex and that it is normal to have at such a young age.

4.    Website

MLA Cite: Nauert, Nick. "TV Sex Influences Teen Pregnancy | Psych Central News." Psych Central. 5 Nov. 2008. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.

Summary: This source states that adolescents who are exposed more often to television programs that contain sexual content are more likely to have pregnancy over the next three years compared to others their age who watched fewer of the same shows.  Some researchers in the article said a high level of exposure to sex on television can influence teen pregnancy by making it seem like theres little risk involved with having sex without using contraceptives.  This article covered the fact that broadcasters should take more responsibility and depict a more realistic view on sex, then what they’re doing now.

Evaluation: This source is a good resource for my inquiry question because media was a major influence of sex since it because popular. Television shows depict sex as a casual thing, and when teen sees that they think that is how it really is out in the world. In fact, its not always just a spur of the moment thing, especially not when you’re young. Teenagers have much of their life ahead of them and should not just jump too ahead of themselves just because that’s what they feel influenced to do from their favorite TV show or movie.

5.    Journal

MLA Cite: Hallak, M. "Teenage Pregnancy: Risk Factors for Adverse Perinatal Outcome” Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine 10.6 (2001): 393-97. Print.

Summary: This journal entry talks mostly about the effects of teenage pregnancy not only to the teens but also the baby. The authors are all educated and involved in the medical field specializing with steps of a pregnancy and they share the problems that can occur with a teenage pregnancy. When teens have babies, some girl’s bodies may not be physically prepared to carry that child successfully and can end in tragedy. This article gives normal statistics of a mother and baby, and compares them to that of a mother and baby in a young pregnancy.

Evaluation: This is a credible source because the authors are well educated, have written many articles on this subject along with others, and have worked their way to be recognized, and also because they all are involved with the medical aspect of pregnancies. They are all linked to various sections that deal with pregnancy, and teenage pregnancy specifically for this subject (i.e. Gynecology, Obstetrics).  This is good to have as a resource for my research topic because they all have personal experience and good education as to what is normal and healthy for mother and baby, so they would definitely recognize when something out of the norm occurs. When a teenage mother comes in and has complications throughout her pregnancy, then delivers a premature tiny, not very healthy baby, they would take note and may be involved with making both mother and baby healthy and happy again. These authors and this article can help get a more scientific and doctorial opinion incorporated in my paper.