The Children of Teenage Parents

Abstract

This article reviews recent studies conducted under the auspices of the Center for Population Research NICHD which attempt to assess the impact of teenage parenthood on children born before their mothers 20th birthdays. The relationship between young maternal age and increased risk of low birthweight babies and perinatal infant mortality noted in earlier studies has been found to be almost entirely due to the quality of prenatal care received by the teenage mother. All studies however show deficits in the cognitive development of children especially males born to teenagers; most of the effect results from social and economic consequences of early childbearing. The effect on measures of aptitude is small though statistically significant and may be trivial in terms of later achievement. The effect of mothers age on the childs social and emotional development and school adjustment was less consistent. Family structure particularly the presence of adults other than the mother appears to influence the impact of maternal age on the child but the issue is complex and much research needs to be done. The children of teenage mothers are likely to spend a large part of their childhood in 1-parent households and they are more likely themselves to have children while still in their teens. Policy implications of these findings are discussed and brief descriptions of the research and samples are included in an appendix.