Adjustment of Children Born to Teenage Mothers: The Contribution of Risk and Protective Factors

Abstract

This study was undertaken to examine the contribution of risk and protective factors in the adjustment of children born to teenage mothers. Information from a national data set was obtained on a subset of 721 children aged 8-15 and their mothers. Results showed that several risk factors (e.g., poverty status, urban residence, mother's self-esteem) were modestly related to children's academic and behavioral adjustment. Exposure to increasing numbers of risk factors was associated with greater vulnerability to adjustment problems. Several protective factors (e.g., intelligence, self-esteem, quality of the home environment) were also modestly related to children 's adjustment and enhanced the prediction of adjustment above and beyond the contribution of the risk factors. For children exposed to risk, the presence of the protective factors reduced their vulnerability to academic and behavioral difficulties.