Teenage pregnancy

Literature review

In the majority of cases, becoming a mother in the teenage years leads to potential problems for a young parent. Educational and employment prospects are likely to be foreclosed. At the same time, repeated pregnancies and subsequent children may occur. What is more, inexperienced young mother may conduct inadequate parenting practices that are likely to result in developmental difficulties with children.

In contrast to abundance of studies on teenage mothers and their personal outcomes (especially in the short-term), studies of teenage mothers’ children are rare. Differences are minimal during infancy. Afterward, small difficulties in cognitive development emerge in the preschool years. The difficulties continue at elementary school. The existing studies indicate that children of young parents are associated with a developmental disadvantage in comparison with children of older mothers (Mollborn & Dennis, 2012). Similarly, difficulties in socio-emotional functioning appear in the preschool years. Teenage preschoolers are more likely to be more aggressive, active, and undercontrolled when compared to children of older mothers. Additionally, cognitive and social differences are more pronounced for boys than girls (Pogarsky, Thornberry, & Lizotte, 2006). Similarly, Pogarsky et al. (2006) point out that:

Boys born to mothers who began childbearing before age 19 had elevated risks of both disorderly life course transitions and externalizing problems. Such boys had higher levels of drug use and gang membership between ages 16 and 18, unemployment between ages 19 and 21, and early parenthood. Girls born to young mothers only had elevated risk of early parenthood. (p. 340)

Other studies speculate that children born to current teen mothers are at some elevated risk of social impairment, a psychiatric disorder and grade failure. Lipman, Georgiades, and Boyle (2011) claim that:

Being born to a teen mother (versus a nonteen mother) is associated with poorer educational achievement, life satisfaction, and personal income. Accounting for time of sample children’s birth in teen mothers’ lives, individuals born to current and prior teen mothers showed a ?0.8-year educational deficit, relative to individuals born to nonteen mothers in fully adjusted models. Individuals born to current teen mothers reported lower life satisfaction and personal income (?$7,262). (p. 232)

At the same time, there were not discovered any dramatic differences in physical health or mental development between individuals born to non-teenage mothers and those born to teenage ones. Brown, Harris, Woods, Buman, and Cox (2012) concentrate on psychological outcomes of adolescent mothers. The research proved that more than 50% of teenage mothers experienced depressive symptoms at all three time points (baseline, 12 weeks, and one year). Moreover, teenage mothers are experiencing a high level of stress in parenting (Larson, 2004). In addition, the research indicates that not only young mothers but young fathers as well may experience a variety of difficulties once their children are born (Sipsma, Biello, Cole-Lewis, & Kershaw, 2010). Young fathers are more likely to experience poor educational and financial outcomes not mentioning potential involvement with illegal activities. At the same time, in terms of social outcomes, teenage fathers are 1.8 times more likely to become adolescent fathers than are sons of older fathers (Sipsma et al., 2010).

Young adult outcomes of children born to teen mothers: effects of being born during their teen or later years

Lipman et al. in their study aimed to examine “the associations between young adult functioning and being born to a teen mother aged ?20 years at the time of birth (current teen), and being born to a teen mother later in her life (>21 years, prior teen)” (Lipman et al., 2011, p.232). The authors appealed to multilevel modeling. The findings of the study suggest that children born to mothers with significantly lower socio-economic status, maternal education and mental health problems express the highest level of social impairment, grade failure and psychiatric disorder. Additionally, in young adulthood, children of teenage mothers exhibit distinctively lower than children of non-teenage mothers levels of mental health, education, and personal income. The study is claimed to be the first one that examines young adult health/well-being and socio-economic outcomes. At the same time, the findings of the study proved that effects on personal income and life satisfaction are likely to be selective. Thus, the implementation of the study suggests further research aimed at understanding these differential effects.

Developmental outcomes for children of young mothers

In the study, the authors investigate the association between early age of a mother and different life outcomes for a child in adolescence and early adulthood. The study aims to test the breadth of adversities suffered by children of young mothers, internalizing problems such as anxiety or depression, as well as gender differences in the consequences associated with being born to a young mother. The findings claim that there is a great differentiation between boys and girls that results in adverse effects of being children of a teenage mother. However, the study suggests a common outcome for boys and girls, which is becoming teenage parents themselves. Implications suggest generalizing the findings to other ethnic and cultural groups, discovering wider range of mediating factors, as well as developing strategies for reduction of negative consequences of early pregnancy.

Longitudinal study of depressive symptoms and social support in adolescent mothers

The study aims at learning the association between depressive symptoms in adolescent mothers and social support. The authors suggest that adolescent mothers with higher levels of social support report lower levels of depressive symptoms. The findings claim that the majority of teen mothers experience depressive symptoms. Furthermore, “there was an inverse association between measures of depressive symptoms and social support, particularly in adolescents with higher levels of depressive symptoms at baseline” (Brown et al., 2012, p. 898). The study concludes that depressive symptoms are usual among young mothers, and social support assists considerably in overcoming these symptoms. Moreover, the authors admit a significant positive impact of parenting programs.

Parenting stress among adolescent mothers in the transition to adulthood

The study aims to discover the extent of parenting stress experienced by young mothers. Additionally, the author tests the relationship between a mother’s perception of parenting stress and factors from her ecological context (partner violence, conflict with her own parents regarding child rearing, economic strain, and other important life events). The study lasted for 2.5 years till the time of eldest child’s preschool years. The author appealed to structured face-to-face interviews. The findings of the investigation suggest the low-income young mothers did not experience stress with dual developmental tasks as stressful by the time of late adolescent years. Thus, stress may not be associated with the role of parents, “Young mothers are able to tolerate economic strain and other life strains with less impact on the parent–child relationship when their children have matured into the preschool years compared to earlier life stages” (Larson, 2004, p. 470). The implications are concentrated on intervention programs for teenage mothers, which are focused on making parenting easier.

Like father, like son: the intergenerational cycle of adolescent fatherhood

The research aims to discover possible correlations between paternal adolescent fatherhood and some factors from the ecological system theory, which predict adolescent fatherhood. The findings of the study claim that sons of adolescent fathers are at the significantly increased risk of becoming adolescent fathers themselves in comparison with sons of older fathers. “Sons of adolescent fathers were 1.8 times more likely to become adolescent fathers than were sons of older fathers, after other risk factors were accounted for. Additionally, factors from each ecological domain – individual (delinquency), family (maternal education), peer (early adolescent dating), and environment (race/ethnicity, physical risk environment) – were independent predictors of adolescent fatherhood” (Sipsma et al., 2010, p. 517). The research concludes that it is vital to employ pregnancy prevention interventions designed for young males at the high risk of becoming teenage fathers. It is stressed that interventions concentrated at multiple risks are likely to be most successful at reducing teenage pregnancies among partners of young men.

In conclusion, children of teenage mothers are more likely to be at the high risk of facing a number of health, social and economic problems. Young mothers are also subject to a number of educational, professional, personal and social disadvantages. Additionally, teenage fathers experience emotional outcomes as well as potential involvement in drug abuse or criminal behavior not mentioning lower career opportunities. Thus, the problem of teenage pregnancy should become of a major concern to developmental professionals, psychologists, educators and social workers because of its considerable impact on maternal and child adulthood outcomes, economic and social well-being of the nation.