Explaining the Gloucester High Pregnancy Pact

When Time Magazine's Web site ran a story last week about a group of teenage girls at a public high school in Gloucester, Massachusetts, who made a pact to get pregnant, onlookers were shocked. A subsequent story from ABCNews.com examined the pact and others like it to conclude that feelings of isolation, the media and distant parents are all in part to blame for harmful pacts like the pregnancy one.

The pledge to get pregnant was brought to light when the Gloucester High School clinic was receiving an unusually high number of pregnancy test requests. Test results showed 17 pregnant girls, about four times the number of pregnancies among the 1,200 students in the previous year. Upon probing the situation, school and clinic officials found that the pregnant girls-and others who were tested and seemed disappointed they weren't pregnant-had agreed to get pregnant and raise their children together.

Psychological experts weighing in on Gloucester acknowledge that teenagers do make pacts, though rarely are they so detrimental. Pacts are a way for lonely teenagers to have a sense of identity, inclusion, and camaraderie. While the pacts are usually harmless, some agreements include suicide and drug use pacts.

Experts also point to the media and the copycat syndrome it creates in the Gloucester girls' decision. They claim movies that glorify teen and accidental pregnancy, like Juno and Knocked Up, give young girls the idea that these circumstances don't have serious consequences. These images coupled with teens' tendency to copy things they see on screen lead to things like the pregnancy pact.

Parents, however, are a major part of the story as well. Dangerous pacts are made by teenagers who feel neglected by their families. Conversations parents have with their children about "the tough stuff" go a long way to prevent their kids from seeking love in the wrong places.