Risking the Future Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing (1987) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Societal Context
3 The Societal Context
Pages 75-94
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From page 75... ...
the changes In teenage sexual and fertility behavior descnbed ~ the previous chapter and the specific determinants of individual sexual behavior and decision making discussed ~ the next chapter, it is useful tO exanune the changing societal context of adolescence. Of particular ~mportance are several demographic changes, economuc shifts, and legal changes.
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From page 76... ...
Although proportionately more fathers in the United States live with rather than apart from their children, the number of absent fathers has increased in recent years, especially among younger men Based on an analysis of data from the Nanonal Longitudinal Survey (NLS) , it appears that among the cohort of
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From page 77... ...
Across race groups, the proportion of fathers ages 2~25 who had their first child before age 19 was higher for absent fathers than for those living with their children (Lerman, 1985~. Pattems of Mamage In part, the growth in childbearing outside mamage over the past 15 years reflects changing patterns of marnage.
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From page 78... ...
labor force participation during the past decade. Most notably, the dramatic increase in the number of mothers who are working outside the home represents a Fundamental change in the activities an]
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From page 79... ...
Family Income For nearly three decades following World War Il. the United States enjoyed a period of steady economic growth.
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From page 80... ...
Although the earnings of wives in black and Hispanic families are not substantially lower than those of their white counterparts, white children in two-parent families benefit from higher median family incomes. This is largely because the average earnings of white husbands are higher.
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From page 81... ...
Approximately 62 percent of all female-headed families with children received means-tested benefits in the first quarter of 1984: 35 percent received cash assistance and 61 percent participated In noncash programs. The proportion of blacI; female-headed families receiving these benefits was even higher: nearly 80 percent, with more than 45 percent receiving cash benefits and nearly 80 percent partiapating In noncash programs (Bureau of the Census, 1985b)
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From page 82... ...
While employment rates for whites were nsing, those for black females were not rising as fast, and those for black males were falling (Betsey et al., 19851. Job opportunities increased for individuals with advanced education and specialized skills and expenence, while the number of places in the job market for those with little education and employment training decreased.
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From page 83... ...
Moreover, these changing social and economic patterns appear to be related in fundamental ways to changing patterns of family formation and changing attitudes about sexual behavior, marnage, and childbearing. Women's Roles arid Norms of Sexual Behavior During the 1960s and 1970s, many traditional American values and behavioral norms were called into question, among them the roles of women and the nature of male-female relationships.
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From page 84... ...
Premarital intercourse, abortion, and homosexual relations were wewed as morally acceptable by a majonty of both college and noncollege youth (Yankelonch, 1974~. For aminontyofyoung people, favorable altitudes about sexual freedom extended to "open marriage," "group sex," and "group marriage," although there is no evidence that these practices were widespread (Chilman, 1980a)
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From page 85... ...
For many women, especially poor and black ones, marriage came to be regarded as neither a social necessity nor an economic possibility (Ladner, 19721: high unemployment rates among young black men posed a barrier to establishing economically viable and stable marriages. In addition, as one scholar suggests, black women have had a strong orientation toward employment for several generations, and this, co~nbined with declining employment among black men, may have made them less disposed toward marriage (Kenkel, 1986~.
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From page 86... ...
Therefore, although rates of nonmantal sexual activity, abortion, and childbearing outside marriage increased among blacks dunng this penod, the most Fanatic increases were among whites. The women's movement has been aimed at changing the c~rcumstances of adult women.
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From page 87... ...
Concerns about growing racial inequities stirred protests against segregation schools, neighborhoods, churches, and places of employment. Disillusionment with a society that seemed not to hear the concerns of some of its young people libeled protests against academic censorship and in favor of student free speech on campuses across the country.
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From page 88... ...
, although among some teens attitudes about drug use and sexual freedom continued to reflect the liberalism of the 1960s. There was, however, little faith
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From page 89... ...
Although the seeds had been SOWN in the previous three decades, econorn~c conservatism, as well as moral and religious conservatism, began to flourish and found new expression in the political arena (Nisbett, 1985; Glazer, 1985~. Excesses of personal indulgence and governmental waste were blamed for the declining position of the IJnited States in the world market, in the arms race, and in technological development.
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From page 90... ...
Iromcally, as one observer has noted, although neoconsenratives campa~gned for less federal government involvement in family life, private business, and local communities, the sweeping thrust of the Reagan administration has been interpreted by many to be more government involvement, through proposed laws and constitutional amendments that cover sexual behavior among consenting adults, abortion, Baby Doe cases, school prayers, and contraception (Nisbett, 1985~. We have yet to realize the full effect of the conservatism of the early 1980s whether it will create a stronger goal orientation among young people, whether it Wit]
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From page 91... ...
In addition, sex is commonly linked with prostitution and violence, and sexual relationships are rarely portrayed as "warm, Soaring, or stable" either inside or outside marriage (National Institute of Mental Health, 1982~. Homosexual relationships are not the frequent subject of television programming, but references to homosexuality are increasingly common (Lowry et al., 1981~.
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From page 92... ...
Lyrics are frequently sexually suggestive, and often the dramatic portrayals include explicit and implied sexual references, violent sexual acts, homosexuality, and aggressive male domination of women. Rock video cassettes are aggressively marketed to teenagers, and they have been extremely lucrative for the manufacturers.
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From page 93... ...
While controversy continues about the extent to which adult normals should apply tO adolescents, the prevalence of nonmarital sexual activity and cohabitation, the availability of biomedical contraceptives and abortion, and the growing acceptance of childbearing outside marriage have undeniably influenced adolescents. Changing attitudes and behavior related tO sexuality have been paralleled by pervasive changes in other areas of adolescent behavior as well, particularly licit and illicit drug use and normative transgressions in general.
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