Not only does Nevada have the marked cornered on Home Foclosures, they have the worst Teen Pregnancy Rate from across the nation. The stats: for every 1,000 girls, 113 of them are pregnant.
Here is an snipet from “Channel 8, Las Vegas Now”
The non-profit agencies that counsel teenagers say the lack of education and the economy are to blame for the increase.
“Pam Caylor runs the privately funded non-profit and partly blames the economy for the teenage pregnancy problem in Nevada. “With hard times, people are not going out as much. They are choosing other ways of entertainment, to be honest,” she said.
Both Caylor and Magnus agree that parents also must become involved to talk to their children before they are placed in a situation where they could end up pregnant.”
Forclosures, Gangs, and now Pregnancy… I hope LV can get a grip on their city.
Some points to make about this column-
First, the teen pregnancy rate (TPR) is seldom used to track this problem. Instead, we use the teen birth rate (TBR) more often. The TPR is unreliable and erratic because of mobilty amongst the poor, and legalized abortion both with and w/o parental consent.
Second, a TPR of 113/1000 means a TBR of about 57-65/1000, depending on the state. This is high, but far from the highest. Ector County, Tx has a TBR of about 135/1000/ages 11-19. Perris Ca has a TBR of 170/1000/11-19, the 7th highest in the world.
Last, Ms. Caylor is correct that the TBR is tied to the economy but very much incorrect that it’s because of entertainment value.
The dynamics behind the TBR are The adult birth rate, poverty, sex abuse, violent and chaotic households, economic attraction to older males, educational failure, lack of reproductive health care, lack of competing choices, male abandonment, and the uncomfortable truth that having a child as a teen can be a good choice.
These are all adult caused dynamics. Teen pregnancy is an adult problem, not a teen problem, and sex has nothing to do with it whatsoever.
Rick Machado
Public Speaker on Teen Pregnancy
Well Said. Thanks for the Comment
You’re welcome. And to further educate you I urge you to pick up used copies of “The Scapegoat Generation” by Mike Males, and “Dubious Conceptions” by Kristen Luker. These were the books that got me concerned about all the lies teens were being told.
Good Luck- Rick M