Sex education is
a broad term used to describe education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse and thus reproduction
In discussing
the far reaching implication of exposing
the youths to early sex education, we look at youth at risk for early sexual activity and teenage
parenthood current research indicates that fifty
three percent of families
between the ages of 15 and 19 are
sexually experienced
Teenagers at the
end of 1980s were likely to be
sexually active than teenagers at the
beginning of the decade
despite the advent of programs to encourage sexual abstinence during this same time period
Moreover, each
year approximately one out of ten teenage girls between the gages of
15 and 19 become pregnant, given
the high rate of teenage pregnancies, an important question the needs to be
addressed
What
factors put teenage pregnancy? The purpose of this presentation is to review
what is known about factors related to sexual activity among teenagers . we propose that a risk focused ecological perspective is useful for understanding teenage
sexuality
Characteristics
of the teens and of their families are predictive
of which
teens and of their families are predicative of which teens are sexually active
In
addition, factors outside the family such as
schools, work, and neighborhood characteristics can influence rates of
sexual activity among teens . the ecological perspective is not only useful for thinking about how the
problem can be addressed
1.
Overview of an ecological risk. Focus approach
KAREN;
the question we will Begin with today is
do we know enough to prevent early
adolescent sexual activity? Today WP do
like to talk with you about a way of
thinking about prevention. David Hawkins and his colleagues at the University
of Washington bring other fields for effective prevention techniques. The heart
and lung disease prevention models that were being pioneered at Stanford and
other places across the country seemed to hold promise.
Their
approach differed from other approaches in that if focused on factors that
increase the risk of heart disease, a family history of heart disease, too much
smoking too little exercise, a diet high in fat.
What
was interesting about this approach is what studies indicated about this
approach is that studies indicated that people understand the importance of
exercise and diet, and by promoting lifestyle changes. The care of the risk
focused prevention approach is quite simple. To prevent a problem from happening
in the first place, identify the factors that increase the risk of that problem
and then address those factors either eliminate them or reduce their effects or
identify factors that protect against that problem and support or enhance those
factors.
Thus according to Steve this leads to the
question, will the approach that began in the health arena also work in human development”
The
clear message from the literature on child development is that human
development is not influenced by one factor buy by a whole mosalic of factors (Bronfenbrenner, 1986, Segal, 1983) Children grow up not in isolation, but in every widening environments children grow up,
not in isolation, but in ever
widening environments, children are influenced
first and foremasts. Children are influenced first and foremost by their
peers, their school and work settings, and community in which they
live. Development has no single
cause rather multiple factors working
together influence development
THE ECOLOGICAL MODEL
If we are
serious about preventing teen pregnancy and delaying early adolescent sexual
activity, this model suggests the need to address risk
factors at multiple levels of
childs ecology
DEFINITION OF RISK FACTORS
What do we mean
by risk factors risk factors are individual or environmental hazards that increase
a youngsters vulnerability to
negative developmental outcomes or problems. The presence of
risk factors does not guarantee a
negative developmental outcome, but rather increases the odds or probabilities that a problem will occur (Werner,
1990)
Definition of
protective factors protective factors are individual or environmental
safeguards that enhance a youngsters ability to resist stressful life events and hazards and promote adaptation and
competence (Garmezy, 1983) weren’t, 1990) protective factors are some
times the opposite of risk factors are sometimes the opposite of risk factor,
the main difference however, is that risk factors lead directly to disorder
while protective factors operate only when a risk is present (Ruther 1987)
An ecological risk focused approach also assumes
that risk factors are cumulative and
sometimes multiplicative
Conclusion the
more risk individuals face, the greater the
likelihood that they will experience a problem. Similarly, the more
protective factors individuals posses the less likely they are to experience a problem when faced with stressful events or hazardous conditions
REFERENCES
Wilson W.J 919870
the truly disadvantaged Chicago
university of Chicago press
Keeywords; staff
training at risk