Group 8Christianne Julianne de SilvaRonna CruzLuigi Miguel DanofrataChristine Joy CausapinJoshua Santos

Justine Earl Evacula9 - San Lorenzo Ruiz

Do you think teenagers are ready enough to engage themselves into a responsibility called "teenage pregnancy"? Today, many teenagers engage themselves into pre-marital sex - It affects the growth of the population and became one of the major problems of some countries due to its many psychological effects to mostly teenage girls. As some people may say, girls are very emotional and sensitive. So at an early age, teenagers should already be educated about this matter. Teenagers should also learn to control their urges and think of the possible consequences and negative effects that pre-marital sex and teenage pregnancies might bring into their lives like depression, paranoia, and the worst case scenario could be that teens might have suicidal tendencies.

One of the most common effects to the psychological health of a teenage mother is depression. Depression is the most common clinical condition marked by inability to work and engage into life. (Tan, 2007) According to the psychodynamic theory, depression is presented as a disorder that can be linked to real or imagined object loss (Sadock & Sadock, 2003). Holmes (1994) maintains that depressed people are often unjustifiably self-critical and angry with themselves. Psychodynamic's object-relations theory maintains that depression is caused by problems that people have in developing representations of healthy relationships. Depression is a consequence of an ongoing struggle that depressed people endure in order to try and maintain emotional contact with desired objects. It involves a person who feels dependent upon relationships with others and who essentially grieves over the threatened or actual loss of those relationships. These people experience intense fears of abandonment and desperately struggle to maintain direct physical contact with the need-gratifying object. Depression can also occur when a person feels that they have failed to meet their own standards or the standards of important others, and that therefore they are failures. The person ultimately turns the anger to the self (Holmes, 1994). The significantly lower levels of happiness and higher levels of depression among sexually active teens suggest that sexual activity leads to a decrease in happiness and well-being among many, if not most, teenagers. Participants in Clemmens, (2002) study reported feeling depressed after the birth of their babies. None of the participants had a history of being treated for depression. Participants reported feeling scared with the sudden realization of motherhood. Some felt abandoned and rejected by partners and peers whilst others indicated being overwhelmed with questioning and not understanding the experience of depression and what was happening to them. Some participants reported feeling confused by the experience. Often, pregnant teenagers suffer from emotional crisis soon after the positive pregnancy test comes. Adolescents do not usually have a plan of getting pregnant when they engage in sexual behavior. It is their inability to make a note of the consequences of unplanned indulgence in sex that puts them at risk. It is after the teenager has realized that she is pregnant that she discovers the possible downsides to it at a tender age. The fact that most teenage girls are unaware of the process that pregnancy is, they end up not taking care of themselves and indulging in bad habits such as smoking and drinking to lie the depressed phase off. When a teenager is pregnant, several uncertainties about the future may arise. The teenager may feel as if she doesnt have enough knowledge base to be a mother and end up loading her brain with information available on the internet only to make it worse. She may start worrying about whether the father of the baby will follow-up with any support or whether she would be dealing with the baby herself. This depression can cause more problems like frustrations, self-esteem problems and may even lead to rash behaviors. (Kamalasanan, 2012) A teenager may start feeling depressed once she realizes the consequences of her actions. They will soon feel small and isolated, and as though their desperate screams cannot be heard by the people around them. (Evaristo, 2012) Hopelessness was also associated with depression often. Teenagers seem to complain about their situation and tend to lose hope easily. (Tan, 2007) Self-esteem problems may also begin to arise. In today's society, being judged cannot anymore be avoided. A teenage mother may experience sarcastic banters and teasing from people in school - which may lead her towards stopping school. She may also feel a sense of worthlessness, or as if she's out of place every time due to her situation. (Kamalasanan, 2012) Guilt is also one factor that may add up to her depression - Self-guilt, or a feeling of regret that she should not have engaged herself into pre-marital sex or that she should have considered the consequences before indulging herself into such acts and also the guilt of being a shame to her family. Moreover, depression does not only affect the psychological health of the teenager - It may also affect her interest towards activities she used to like before, her social life, and worst, it may affect even her education for depressed teenagers tend to feel hopeless as if their lives have lost its meaning and they won't be able to do anything right anymore. One simple, reckless act can ruin a teenage girl's whole life in just a blink of an eye - psychologically, physically, socially, mentally and even spiritually.

As the teenager's depression continues, it may lead to something more serious like paranoia. A teenage mother who experiences depression will often tend to overthink things and they also become more anxious. According to Kamasalanan (2012), a teenage girl living with parents may find it even more difficult to cope with pregnancy for she will be drawn by the guilt of having let her parents down. Besides, most families are aversive to the idea of teenage pregnancy and instead of supporting the child, end up throwing unfriendly and disturbing remarks, which makes things harder for the girl due to the unsympathetic environment. A teenager will have the tendency to isolate herself from the society she's in, for she is afraid of the harsh judgments and criticisms that she may receive. It might also lead to trust issues; the girl will most probably find it hard to trust the people around her, even her own family members, which will affect her relationships with them and create a gap between their kinship. Also, in a study by Hughes (1999), it is said that some teenage mothers might go through a phase of narcissism, in which they become preoccupied with themselves rather than the world around them. This can happen when faced with a situation that appears too large to handle. It then becomes impossible for the girl to focus on anyone else besides her and her baby. The self-absorbed behavior can intensify when the expectant mother is confronted with her friend's seemingly trivial problems: dating, school work or sibling rivalries. It is easy for the pregnant teenager to begin thinking that her problems overshadow those of her family and friends, and she might become confused when they aren't bending over backward to help her out. A number of studies have indicated that becoming a mother during adolescence interferes with the manner in which the teenager in question relates to other people. A study by De Visser and Le Roux (1996) found that many teenage mothers felt that their pregnancy upset their parents. Other studies also found that fathers tended to be angered by their daughters' pregnancies. In some cases, this anger would even lead to the fathers threatening to chase their teenage daughters out of the house (Parekh and De la Rey, 1997). In a study by Kaplan (1996), some teenage mothers indicated that mothers were resentful toward them. Some of the teenage mothers even contemplated moving out of the house as a way to resolve the problems that they had with mothers. Thomas and Rickel (2006) also reported that pregnant teenagers experience remarkably more maladjustment than their non-pregnant counterparts, and were also found to be less likely to manipulate the environment in a positive manner. The implication here is that pregnant teenagers tend to have their identity development interfered with as they find themselves grappling with developmental issues that are not appropriate for their age. Individuals prone to depression have a negative view of themselves, they have a tendency to experience the world as hostile and demanding, and they perceive the future as being characterized by expectation of suffering and failure. (Sadock & Sadock, 2003) Paranoia does not only ruin the mother herself, but it can also ruin the ties she used to have - with her family, relatives and friends.

The worst-case scenario of the depression and paranoia of a teenage mother is that it may result to suicidal tendencies. Finding out they are pregnant as a teenager can feel rather disastrous. Suddenly they may think their future plans are gone. They may even have thoughts of suicide as a way to stop the pain, or to save themselves from shame. Some even think of suicide as an escape from reality. According to Evaristo (2012), teenagers find it hard to live in a world as judgmental as this, because of loneliness, they tend to consider self-harm and suicide as a coping mechanism. Some also say that self-harm and suicide attempts help numb the pain, but it's only temporary. In a study by Kamasalanan (2012), when the pregnant teenager is stuck within a hostile environment, she would begin to feel a blow at her self-esteem. A low self-esteem will keep the pregnant teenager from seeking medical attention, thereby increasing her risk of developing pregnancy complications at the time of birth. To get away from the hostile environment or be oblivious to its existence, the teenager finds solace in substance abuse and self-infliction, which further weakens her to look after herself. Depression tends to come and go in episodes, but once a child or adolescent has one period of depression, he or she is more likely to get depressed again at some point in the future. Without treatment, the consequences of depression can be extremely serious. Children are likely to have ongoing problems in school, at home, and with their friends. They are also at increased risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, adolescent pregnancy, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. ("Depression, Mania, Suicidal Tendencies During Pregnancy", 2007) Rector et al. (2003) reported that a full 14.3 percent of girls who are sexually active report having attempted suicide. By contrast, only 5.1 percent of sexually inactive girls have attempted suicide. Thus, sexually active girls are nearly three times more likely to attempt suicide than are girls who are not sexually active. It is said that teenagers tend to think of suicide because they are having a hard time deciding whether to keep the baby or not, and because they don't have enough capabilities to handle the situation. ("Emotional Effects of Teenage Pregnancy", 2008) The harsh criticisms and judgments received by a teenage mother is also a big factor towards their suicidal tendencies - the cruel words might get to them and they might think that their life has solely lost its purpose already, and their better off dead. As mentioned above, depression and paranoia may both lead to something as serious as suicide so as much as possible, at the early phases of depression, a teenager should already be offered help.

Now that teenagers have learned the possible psychological effects of teenage pregnancy, would they even dare to try engaging themselves into pre-marital sex? Finding out all the negativity it can cause hopefully gave the teenagers out there some thoughts to ponder on. One simple, reckless action can ruin their entire life forever. Teenage pregnancy is like a temporary shot of pleasure that can annihilate the future ahead of them. It doesn't only affect the teenagers themselves, but also the people around them. So as much as possible, teenagers should get the hang of thinking critically before engaging themselves into something they barely know about. Teenagers should assimilate how to control their urges and think before they act - there's a right time for everything. They'll never know how one cocky act can destroy them and the people around them, in just a blink of an eye.REFERENCESClemmens, D. A. (2002). Adolescent mothers' depression after the birth of theirbabies: Weathering the storm. Adolescence, 37 (147), 551 - 565.

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Rector, R., Johnson, K., & Noyes, L. (2003, June 3). Sexually Active Teenagers Are More Likely to Be Depressed and to Attempt Suicide. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2003/06/sexually-active-teenagers-are-more-likely-to-be-depressed.

Sadock, B. J., & Sadock, V. A. (2003). Kaplan & Sadocks Synopsis of Psychiatry:Behavioural Science/Clinical Psychiatry (9th Ed.). New York: LippintocottWilliams and Wilkins.

Tan, M. (2007, November 14). Young Suicides. Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1 - 2.

Thomas, E.A. & Rickel, A.U. (2006). Teen pregnancy and maladjustment: A study of base rates. Journal of Community Psychology, 23 (3), 200 215.