Research Memo!

Hypothesis: Lately, teenage pregnancy rates have been greatly increasing. Only 9.9% of teenagers used double method birth control in 2009. Coincidently, the reality television show"16 and Pregnant" became popular. This show broadcasted how a pregnant 16 year old teenager lives. Then, aired a show, "Teen Mom," telling the world how a teenage mother lives. Due to teenagers become pregnant to star on these TV shows, I became curious to know if these shows positively affected teenage pregnancy. Therefore, my respondents will agree reality TV shows, such as "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom," positively affect teenage pregnancy. 

Context: I asked questions that pertained to intercourse. Even though my essential question focuses on reality TV shows positively affecting teenage pregnancy, I need to know what goes on beyond watching the reality TV shows. I targeted girls ages 12-19. I chose age 12 as the minimum age because, I have primary research that 12 year old girls have intercourse. Also, I chose 19 as the maximum age because, based on the research I conducted last year on teenage pregnancy, statistics consider girls 19 years old as teenager. My results are reliable because, my respondents were the group of teenagers I targeted. However, I need to change my respondents to teenage boys and girls instead of just teenage girls. I need to change my respondents because, my questions pertain to safe sex, and girls aren’t the only people reliable when having safe sex.

Results:

Age 15:

Views on teenage pregnancy:	1) “N/A” 2) “Rates are increasing too much.” 3) “I think it’s bad.” 4) “Rates are increasing rapidly” 5) “I don’t like it” 6) “It’s not good but it’s not a smart choice” 7) “I believe that teenage pregnancy is getting out of control and we need to take action to protect teenage women.”
In 2009, what percent of teenagers used double method birth control? *Right answer is 9.9%	1) didn’t answer the question 2)9.9% 3)didn’t answer 4)9.9% 5)22.5% 6)22.5% 7)22.7%
Do you believe reality T.V shows, such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom,” have a positive effect on teenage pregnancy?	-4 out of 7 respondents answered no -3 out of 7 respondents answered yes.
Have you ever had intercourse without protection?	-5 out of 7 respondents answered no -2 out of 7 respondents answered yes
On a scale of 1-5, how important do you think teenage pregnancy is in today’s society?	1)4 2)5 3)5 4)3 5)3 6)3 7)3
Teenage pregnancy is 100% preventable.	-2 out of 7 said put False -5 out of 7 said True
Using one method of birth control will protect against pregnancy 100%.	All respondents chose the answer false.
Do you protect yourself during intercourse? If so, what method of protection do you use?	-4 out of 7 did not answer or answered saying they have not participated in intercourse yet. -2 out of 7 said they use condoms -1 out of 7 answered, “sometimes. condoms and when I take my birth control”
Has teenage pregnancy affected you?	-1 out of 7 answered yes. -1 out of 7 did not answer. -5 out of 7 answered no.

Age 16:

Views on teenage pregnancy.	1) “Teenage pregnancy is not acceptable” 2) “Teenage pregnancy is very common currently.” 3) “Girls need to stop getting pregnant at such an early age.”
In 2009, what percent of teenagers used double method birth control? *Right answer is 9.9%	1)60% 2)9.9% 3)22.5% 4)9.9%
Do you believe reality T.V shows, such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom,” have a positive effect on teenage pregnancy?	-3 out of 4 respondents answered no. -1 out of 4 respondents answered yes
Have you ever had intercourse without protection?	-3 out of 4 respondents answered yes. -1 out of 4 respondents answered no.
On a scale of 1-5, how important do you think teenage pregnancy is in today’s society?	1)5 2)4 3)5 4)5
Teenage pregnancy is 100% preventable.	-3 out of 4 respondents answered True -1 out of 4 respondents answered False
Using one method of birth control will protect against pregnancy 100%.	All 4 respondents answered False.
Do you protect yourself during intercourse? If so, what method of protection do you use?	-2 out of 4 use condoms -1 out of 4 does not use protection -1 out of 4 respondents does not have sexual intercourse
Has teenage pregnancy affected you?	-3 out of 4 respondents have not been affected by teenage pregnancy -1 out of 4 respondents stated, “not me, but my friend one of my bestfriends. . .  has gotten preg. and she loves her little girl but wish she would have waited.”

Age 17:

Views on teenage pregnancy.	1)It’s not good ,girls need to use protection 2)”It’s too common and they need to invest in condoms” 3)”It’s alright” 4)”It is a problem”
In 2009, what percent of teenagers used double method birth control? *Right answer is 9.9%	1)22.5% 2)9.9% 3)50% 4)22.5%
Do you believe reality T.V shows, such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom,” have a positive effect on teenage pregnancy?	-2 out of 4 respondents answered yes -2 out of 4 respondents answered no
Have you ever had intercourse without protection?	-3 out of 4 respondents answered yes -1 out of 4 respondents answered no
On a scale of 1-5, how important do you think teenage pregnancy is in today’s society?	1)5 2)4 3)4 4)5
Teenage pregnancy is 100% preventable.	-2 out of 4 respondents answered yes -2 out of 4 respondents answered no
Using one method of birth control will protect against pregnancy 100%.	All 4 respondents answered false
Do you protect yourself during intercourse? If so, what method of protection do you use?	-2 out of 4 respondents use condoms -1 out of 4 respondents use condoms and birth control -1 out of 4 respondents did not list the sort of protection they use.
Has teenage pregnancy affected you?	-3 out of 4 respondents use have not been affected - One out of 4 respondents was not affected personally, but her friend became pregnant.

Data Analysis: I broke my results down into age groups then broke down each question.

     - The respondents that took my survey who are age 15 had the most unanswered questions. Either the respondent put “N/A” or didn’t answer the question. I also noticed that some of the respondents who are age 15 have not participated in intercourse. When asked if protection is used during intercourse, two respondents answered “N/A,” two respondents listed condoms as their protection, and one respondent listed birth control and condoms as their protection. However, the respondent who listed birth control and condoms as her protection only used double method birth control when she remembered to take her birth control. Another trend I noticed was the respondents age group 15 answered with the least    importance level. Four out of three respondents answered three as the importance level of teenage pregnancy in today’s society. The other three respondents either answered four or five as the importance level. Out of the 15 surveys I distributed, seven of the girls that took the survey are 15 years old.

    - When asked my essential question, do you think reality TV shows, such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom,” have a positive effect on teenage pregnancy?, age groups fifteen and sixteen both had  . In addition to this trend, the girls in both age groups that have not participated in intercourse answer yes to this question. The two respondents that answered “N/A” to most of the questions on the survey answered “no” to my essential question. All the respondents who are age 16 and participated in intercourse, admitted to not protecting themselves during intercourse. I think age group 16 answered the way they did because, they are older and more experienced. Also,

-    The respondents who are age 17 had a couple trends also. This is the only age group where all respondents have participated in intercourse. Also, this was the only age group when half the respondents answered “yes” and the other half answered “no” when asked my essential question. However, more trends appeared between this age group and the two other age groups.  Both age groups had the same amount of respondents who answered yes and no when asked if they ever had intercourse without protection. Also, all the age groups had the same number of respondents who only use condoms as their method of birth control. In addition, all the age groups thought the statement, “using one method of birth control will protect against pregnancy 100%,” is false. I think all the age groups had trends together because, they are all teenagers, and they are all in high school. In high school you are prone to sexual intercourse and many things related to intercourse.

Conclusion: My hypothesis was not correct. My hypothesis stated my respondents will agree when asked my essential question; however, that was not the case. In age groups 15 and 16, more respondents answered no when asked my essential question than yes. It was different than I expected the turnout to be because, I expected more respondents to think reality TV shows affect teenage pregnancy in a positive way. I want to continue my research in the direction it is going. However, I need to ask more questions pertaining to reality TV shows affecting teenage pregnancy; therefore, the next research question that is going to be researched next is, “Why should parents allow their children to watch “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant”? My overall research question has not changed.