Introduction
Teen pregnancy is common in the United States as teens are increasingly having sex before 16. Notably, since the responsibility lies equally with teen mothers and teen fathers, there is a need to develop government programs to inform and support father teens. Besides, to reduce the incidence of unwanted pregnancies, it is possible to conduct screening for adolescent fatherhood risk following addiction, depression, suicide risk screening practices. This paper aims to explain what techniques and programs to help father teens exist in the United States.
Risk Factors
Interestingly, all potential teen fathers in the United States are now equally at risk of unwanted pregnancy. Scientists note that the level of risk does not depend on the parents’ level of education, the dependence of families on government assistance, race, ethnicity, marijuana use, and delinquency (Assini-Meytin, 2019). Therefore, scientists have concluded that it is necessary to create intervention programs that will consider these facts.
Programs for Teen Fathers
Many programs provide support for teen fathers in the US. These are the OPA Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010. TPP Program is a grant program funding various organizations throughout the US to prevent teen pregnancy (Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, n.d.). Within the framework of this program, innovative approaches to teen pregnancy are being implemented. It also promotes the prevention of sexually transmitted infections among teens. The rest of the listed programs also work in the format of funds.
Teen Screening
Hospitals often conduct teen screening looking for problems like addiction, depression, suicide risk, anorexia, poor self-image, or external stressors like bullying, abuse, parental, or family problems. Nurses often use questionnaires as screening tools, as this practice has proven effective (Hooper, 2019). The screening was carried out in emergency departments, as this is where adolescents most often seek help in stabilizing their mental state. Accordingly, similar questionnaires can be developed for potential teen fathers to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
Thus, it was discussed what practices and programs exist in the US to help father teens. It was found that today all groups of young people are equally at risk of becoming a teen father, regardless of race, ethnicity, or social status. Support for adolescents at the state level is carried out mainly in grants that finance various programs. However, the state has the opportunity to directly contact adolescents through interviews in emergency departments, where adolescents can seek help in case of unforeseen situations.
References
Assini-Meytin, L. C., Garza, M. A., & Green, K. M. (2019). Racial and ethnic differences in teenage fathers’ early risk factors and socioeconomic outcomes later in life. In Child & Youth Care Forum (Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 361-376). Springer US.
Hooper, A. (2019). Effectiveness of two psychiatric screening tools for adolescent suicide risk. Pediatric Nursing, 45(4).
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. (n.d.). Web.