Generally, personal responsibility begins at an early age and is
seen as a continuous process, whereby learning takes place through
experience and exposure. During this time, children are taught at home,
at the playground, at school, and in other situations to which they are
exposed. Parents, caregivers, teachers, and all adults who participate
in the learning activities are influential in how personal
responsibility is acquired. During adolescence (perhaps as pre-teens)
young people are increasingly exposed to a wider range of
socialization; they become preoccupied with body changes, they seek
acceptance and close relationships with peers, and their desire for
independence and less contact with authority figures are most apparent.

How adolescents apply or utilize the early experiences of personal
responsibility depends to some extent on their attitudes toward those
individuals who are influential in their lives and the attitudes of
society toward them. As contributors to this continuous process of
learning, each person plays a unique role in helping teenagers and
young adults develop new and more mature relationships with peers of
both sexes, to adopt socially acceptable roles, and to plan for the
future.

As our society becomes more complex, personal
responsibility in pregnancy prevention/planning will no doubt require
new strategies to help teenagers and young adults to deal with
self-esteem, peer pressure, and personal gratification, as well as
varied health and social needs related to childbearing and
childrearing. Life planning will require participation from family
members, peers, healthcare providers, educators, community and
religious leaders, political officials, and others in order to achieve
a measure of success.