In recent years, teen pregnancy has been labeled such a serious problem among teens that it has come to be known as an "epidemic." Is teenage pregnancy directly responsible for a host of societal ills? Increasing rates of teenage pregnancy translate directly into increasing rates of “school failure,” early behavioral problems, drug abuse, child abuse, depression, and crime. Many social problems can be directly attributed to the poor choices of adolescent girls. Today's talk shows are flooded with episodes dealing with teen pregnancy. The rate of adolescents in the United States decreased in 1993 and 1994. Unfortunately, the number of births decreased only among older adolescents, ages 18 and 19. Children born to teens under age 17 have actually increased, reflecting a growing population of younger girls who are what we now euphemistically call “sexually active.” The number of girls aged 14 to 17 will increase by more than a million between 1996 and 2005. An increasing number of children born to children are likely to repeat the devastating cycles of almost everything: teenage pregnancies, school failures, early behavioral problems , drug abuse, child abuse, depression and crime. Has anyone ever heard of a child who is happy because he doesn't know his father? Being the child of a single mother is a handicap, regardless of that mother's wealth, maturity, or social status. Growing up as the child of a single parent is linked to lower levels of academic achievement (having to repeat grades in school or receiving lower grades and class rankings); increased levels of depression; stress and aggression; a decrease in some indicated for physical health; greater incidence of need for services from mental health professionals; and other emotional and behavioral problems. All of these effects are related to living in poverty, poor outcomes, susceptibility to suicide, the likelihood of committing crimes and being arrested, and other problems. When children grow up, some tend to live in the society in which their parents grew up, getting their social environment, culture, way of thinking. If troubled children had children during adolescence, then their children will grow up in the same troubled path their parents were on, it's like a cycle. Parents still teach them only what they know, and if they teach them to steal, to fight or whatever their lifestyle is, their children will grow up to have the... middle of paper..... .Sexual Abuse , having or postponing sexual intercourse, contraception, safe sex and personal responsibility. Above all, young women must learn to fight together for deep-reaching programs that will help them learn physical and verbal self-defense, protect their right to set sexual boundaries, and give them space to develop self-esteem that goes beyond their sexual value for men. Strong girls, who have something going on in their lives and who take care of themselves, their bodies and their communities, are better able to fend off sexual exploitation and avoid unwanted pregnancies. Bibliography1. Ferguson, J. Susan. "Mapping the reading of the social landscape in sociology". “The new tattoo subculture.” By: Anne M. Velliquette and Jeff B. Murray. 1999, 2nd edition. 56-67. “The wasteland of teenagers”. By: Donna Gaines. 7-20.2. Eitzen, D. Stanley and Zinn, Baca Maxine. “In conflict and order, understanding society”. “Culture” Chapter 4. 81-110. “The structure