The Games Children Play.

Discussed are characteristics of the modern Canadian family and the social context within which the issues of adolescent pregnancy and adolescent sexuality arise. Various options for families and related ambivalent attitudes toward such personal freedoms are described. The historical evolution of western industrialized society is briefly sketched, and influences of urbanization and industrialization on the family are traced. The machine is seen as the model of Canadian society, and problems resulting from "machine-like" social structures are delineated. Extensive attention is given to problems of children and adolescents. Additionally, historical changes in the social conditions of and influences on children are indicated. Contemporary children and adolescents are depicted as aliens within their own culture, as frequently living in an artificial and unreal world, and as excluded from responsibilities and confined to playing games such as "recreational sex" in their quest for identity. Statistical data about teenage pregnancies are reviewed, and problems in interpreting the facts are discussed. The "teenage pregnancy epidemic" is viewed as a problem resulting from teenagers' keeping their babies. Consequences of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing for mothers and children are pointed out. Concluding remarks focus on the difficulty of reducing the incidence of adolescent pregnancy. (RH)