Adolescent Nonmarital
Childbearing and Welfare
William
T. Grant Foundation
RESEARCH
BRIEFS
Sponsored by the Society for Research in Child Development,
Society for Research on Adolescence, International Society for Infant
Studies,
Division 7, American Psychological Association
The
Facts:
The
birth rate for unmarried adolescents has doubled since 1970. In 1991
there were approximately 45 births per 1,000 unmarried teenage women.
This trend reflects both the increase in early sexual activity and pregnancy
among teenagers and the dramatic decline in the marital rate among teenagers.
In the past, teenage pregnancies were likely to be preceded or quickly
followed by marriage; but contemporary teenagers are far less likely
to marry before or soon after a child's birth. These trends hold for
non-teenagers as well; the highest rates of nonmarital childbearing
are among women in their twenties, not teenagers, and their rates of
nonmarital childbearing are increasing more rapidly than the rates for
teenagers. Teenage mothers are more likely than older mothers to experience
poverty and more limited educational and employment opportunities. They
are less likely to have adequate parenting skills and practices, and
the children of teenage mothers are more likely than the children of
older mothers to perform poorly in school, have more problems of misbehavior
and delinquency, engage in early sexual activity, and become teenage
mothers themselves. However, it is important to note that not all children
of teenage mothers have difficulties. For example, two-thirds of girls
whose mothers are adolescents do not become teenage mothers themselves.
Policy
Implications
The
interest of policymakers stems in part from the burden that adolescent
pregnancy and childbearing, particularly nonmarital childbearing, places
on federal and state budgets. One recent study estimates that the 1990
single year cost attributable to adolescent childbearing for three federal
programs AFDC, Food Stamps, and Medicaid was approximately $25 billion.
Another study found that 42 percent of AFDC recipients were or had been
teenage mothers. There is little doubt that the birth of a child to
an unmarried adolescent increases the likelihood that she and her child
will rely on public assistance at some point.
Preventing
teenage pregnancy and childbearing is not simple. The antecedents of
teenage pregnancy and childbirth are complex. These include individual
factors such as physical maturation, decision-making skills, ability
to appreciate risk, and expectations for the future; social factors
such as peer influences, school performance, and family communication
and values; and cultural and environmental factors such as media messages,
community moral standards, and the availability of youth activities.
Successful prevention programs must address individual, social, environmental,
and cultural factors.
Focusing
on just one factor, such as knowledge, is not enough. Also, programs
must be intensive and sustained. Single six-week programs have not been
successful. Programs focusing on the realities of teenagers' lives,
offering opportunities for recreation, learning, and the development
of social skills do, however, show success. Successful programs are
tailored to the teenagers in the communities.
Recent
policy discussions have also been narrowly focused, targeting environmental
factors such as economic incentives, despite widespread agreement among
researchers that these incentives play a minuscule role in teenage pregnancy
and childbirth. Welfare reform is not tantamount to the prevention of
teenage pregnancy and childbirth. The problem of teenage childbearing
should be addressed in a more realistic and comprehensive fashion than
heretofore.
