Abstract
Beginning childbearing during adolescence is consistently linked with negative outcomes for both children and parents. Many have attributed this association to maternal background characteristics which are often difficult to change through policy. Though maternal educational attainment is often a side effect of adolescent childbearing, it also represents a potential avenue through which we can help young mothers overcome the obstacles associated with an early birth. The data for this study come from the 1997 Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative sample of mothers and their children (N = 3,193). Data are used to explore the cognitive stimulation and emotional support in the home, measured using the HOME Scale (Caldwell and Bradley in Home observation for measurement of the environment. University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, 1984). OLS regression models how maternal education moderates the association between age at first birth and quality of children’s home environment. Adolescent mothers scored significantly lower on the indicator of home environment than older mothers. However, when continuing education was considered, maternal age at first birth was no longer significantly associated with the home environment. The negative consequences of early births were mediated by adolescent mothers’ continuing education efforts. While interventions are needed to reduce adolescent childbearing, these results highlight the need to ensure that adolescent mothers are provided support to continue their education following delivery. The negative consequences of adolescent births are not inevitable. Encouraging school retention may help young mothers form a safe, healthy, nurturing, and developmentally appropriate home environment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Caldwell, B. M., & Bradley, R. H. (1984). Home observation for measurement of the environment. Little Rock: University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Martin, J. A., Hamilton, B. E., Sutton, P. D., Ventura, S. J., Menacker, F., & Kirmeyer, S. (2009). Births: Final data for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 55(1), 1–26.
Hoffman, S. D., & Maynard, R. A. (2008). Kids having kids: The economic and social consequences of teenage childbearing. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.
Maynard, R. A. (1997). Kids having kids. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
Pogarsky, G., Thornberry, T. P., & Lizotte, A. J. (2006). Developmental outcomes for children of young mothers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 332–344.
Pogarsky, G., Lizotte, A. J., & Thornberry, T. P. (2003). The delinquency of children born to young mothers: Results from the Rochester youth development study. Criminology, 41(4), 1249–1286.
Hofferth, S. L., & Reid, L. (2002). Early childbearing and children’s achievement and behavior over time. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 34(1), 41–49.
Barber, J. S. (2001). Ideational influences on the transition to parenthood: Attitudes toward childbearing and competing alternatives. Social Psychology Quarterly, 64(2), 101–127.
Geronimus, A. T., Korenman, S., & Hillemeier, M. M. (1994). Does young maternal age adversely affect child development? Evidence from cousin comparisons in the United States. Population and Development Review, 20(3), 585–609.
Turley, R. N. L. (2003). Are children of young mothers disadvantaged because of their mother’s age or family background? Child Development, 74(2), 465–474.
Jaffee, S., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T., Belsky, J., & Silva, P. (2001). Why are children born to teen mothers at risk for adverse outcomes in young adulthood? Results from a 20-year longitudinal study. Development and Psychopathology, 13(02), 377–397.
Cooksey, E. C. (1997). Consequences of young mothers’ marital histories for children’s cognitive development. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59(2), 245–261.
Fergusson, D. M., & Woodward, L. J. (1999). Maternal age and educational and psychosocial outcomes in early adulthood. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 40(03), 479–489.
Nagin, D. S., Pogarsky, G., & Farrington, D. P. (1997). Adolescent mothers and the criminal behavior of their children. Law & Society Review, 31(1), 137–162.
Hardy, J. B., Shapiro, S., Astone, N. M., Miller, T. L., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Hilton, S. C. (1997). Adolescent childbearing revisited: The age of inner-city mothers at delivery is a determinant of their children’s self-sufficiency at age 27 to 33. Pediatrics, 100(5), 802–809.
Hardy, J. B., Astone, N. M., Brooks-Gunn, J., Shapiro, S., & Miller, T. L. (1998). Like mother, like child: Intergenerational patterns of age at first birth and associations with childhood and adolescent characteristics and adult outcomes in the second generation. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1220–1232.
Levine, J. A., Pollack, H., & Comfort, M. E. (2001). Academic and behavioral outcomes among the children of young mothers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63(2), 355–369.
Hoffman, S. D. (2008). Updated estimtaes of the consequences of teen childbearing for mothers. In Kids having kids: Economic costs and social consequences of teen pregnancy (pp. 74–118). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
Garcia Coll, C. T., Hoffman, J., & Oh, W. (1987). The social ecology and early parenting of Caucasian adolescent mothers. Child Development, 58(4), 955–963.
Cherlin, A. J. (1999). Going to extremes: Family structure, children’s well-being, and social science. Demography, 36(4), 421–428.
Hoffman, S. D. (1998). Teenage childbearing is not so bad after all…Or is it? A review of the new literature. Family Planning Perspectives, 30(5), 236–243.
Levine, J. A., Emery, C. R., & Pollack, H. (2007). The well-being of children born to teen mothers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(1), 105–122.
Glick, J. E., Ruf, S. D., White, M. J., & Goldscheider, F. (2006). Educational engagement and early family formation. Social Forces, 84, 1391–1415.
Beutel, A. M. (2000). The relationship between adolescent nonmarital childbearing and educational expectations: A cohort and period comparison. The Sociological Quarterly, 41(2), 297–314.
Ribar, D. C. (1994). Teenage fertility and high school completion. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 76(3), 413–424.
Hotz, V. J., McElroy, S. W., & Sanders, S. G. (1997). The costs and consequences of teenage childbearing for the mothers and the government. In Kids having kids (pp. 55–94). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
Hoffman, S. D., Foster, E. M., & Furstenberg, F., Jr. (1993). Reevaluating the costs of teenage childbearing. Demography, 30(1), 1–13.
Manlove, J. (1998). The influence of high school dropout and school disengagement on the risk of school-age pregnancy. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8(2), 187–220.
Kirby, D. (2002). The impact of schools and school programs upon adolescent sexual behavior. The Journal of Sex Research, 39(1), 27–33.
Furstenberg, F. F., Morgan, S. P., Moore, K. A., & Peterson, J. L. (1987). Race differences in the timing of adolescent intercourse. American Sociological Review, 52(4), 511–518.
Furstenberg, F. F. (2003). Teenage childbearing as a public issue and private concern. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 23–39.
Canfield, R. L., Henderson, C. R., Cory-Slechta, D. A., Cox, C., Jusko, T. A., & Lanphear, B. P. (2003). Intellectual impairment in children with blood lead concentrations below 10 {micro}g per deciliter. New England Journal of Medicine, 348(16), 1517–1526.
Lumeng, J. C., Appugliese, D., Cabral, H. J., Bradley, R. H., & Zuckerman, B. (2006). Neighborhood safety and overweight status in children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 160(1), 25–31.
Olds, D. L., Robinson, J., Pettitt, L., Luckey, D. W., Holmberg, J., Ng, R. K., et al. (2004). Effects of home visits by paraprofessionals and by nurses: Age 4 follow-up results of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 114(6), 1560–1568.
Walkowiak, J., Wiener, J., Fastabend, A., Heinzow, B., Kramer, U., Schmidt, E., et al. (2001). Environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and quality of the home environment: Effects on psychodevelopment in early childhood. The Lancet, 358(9293), 1602–1607.
Furstenberg, F. F. (2003). Teenage childbearing as a public issue and private concern. Annual Review of Sociology, 29(1), 23–39.
Freudenberg, N., & Ruglis, J. (2007). Reframing school dropout as a public health issue. Preventing Chronic Disease, 4(4), A107.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sullivan, K., Clark, J., Castrucci, B. et al. Continuing Education Mitigates the Negative Consequences of Adolescent Childbearing. Matern Child Health J 15, 360–366 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0585-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0585-8