Consequences Of Teenage Dating

Consequences of Teenage Dating

A Cause and Effect Essay by Tina Goff 3/1/2018

Teenagers more than any other group are at high risk for various problems when they date at an early age. The consequences are widespread and deeply disturbing in the extent of harm it can do to a developing teenagers mental, social, and economic welfare. More than 20% of teenagers who date, start before the age of 12. Pregnancy at such an early age is on the rise; preteen and teen pregnancy are at 2.23%. These statistics are indicators of other problems associated with early dating, such as STD’s, pregnancy, abortion, violence, instability, low self-esteem, economic hardship, failure to complete education, lack of post-secondary education, depression, suicide,

Most teenage girls have reported [about] being abused by their boyfriend. They note that over 25 percent of adolescents are victims of dating violence or aggression and that dating violence precedes martial violence in up to 50 percent of cases (HeatherR, 2010).” A majority of victims who experience dating violence end up attempting or threatening suicide. Additionally, girls between 16 and 24 are more likely than other age groups to experience intimate partner violence while perpetrators of violence start as early as 12 years old, up to 18 years of age. With one out of three teenagers (approximately 1.5 million) being victims of all forms of dating abuse, it is little wonder that the problem is seemingly

All these factors can contribute to a teenager’s habits of drinking and drugs. The underlying reason for these behaviors is often due to depression that comes from not being able to handle stress, social pressures, violence or consequences of dating at an early age. Author Bella DePaulo (2011) cites one of the following reason for depression in teens, “both the males and females who became romantically involved reported more problems with drinking and delinquency than did their peers who were not romantically involved.” Romantic partners often encourage or display substance and alcohol abuse behaviors to their partners which influences their peers to join in. Group dynamics or “hanging with a bad crowd” has a detrimental effect on teen choices in situations where they are not mature enough to make such