Teenage Parents

Becoming a Teenage Parent

Historically, teenage pregnancies have been viewed as accidental, a function of limited resources, early sexual activity, and poor access to family planning. However, the number of young women and men who continue to become teenage parents, including those who have multiple children within a period of a few years, suggests that other factors contribute to this phenomenon.

Many studies have identified risk factors for becoming a teenage parent with the goal of using this information to prevent teenage pregnancy and parenting. Relative to older first-time parents, adolescent parents are more likely to live in poverty and have unsuccessful educational experiences, while a disproportionate number evidence psychiatric concerns or a history of abuse. They are also more likely to have had teenage parents, and to become sexually active at a younger age, than are older first time parents. Many of these factors are interrelated. For example, adolescents who experience early abuse are more likely to experience psychiatric disorders, while youth who have experienced abuse or psychiatric problems are more likely to engage in early sexual behavior.

While the risk factors for adolescent pregnancy are clear, there is less understanding of why adolescents, after becoming pregnant, decide to parent their children. In some instances, adolescent women may have limited knowledge of their alternatives. Other explanations also help account for the continued expansion of this group, however. Some teenage women who become parents perceive themselves as [Page 416]having limited options in the workforce as a function of having unsatisfying educational experiences and as a result of living in communities with high rates of unemployment and poor job satisfaction. Motherhood provides a role definition for these teens. In instances where teenage parents had teenage parents, they may be modeling their parents' early sexual activity and lifestyle. Studies in which teenage mothers have been interviewed find them identifying positive aspects to early parenting, including strong feelings of connection to their families and the fathers of the children and positive attention from others. Even when support from the family of origin and the father of the baby are not forthcoming, adolescent girls may embrace motherhood because of feelings of connection toward their children. From a societal viewpoint, this accelerated role transition to parenthood is problematic because of concerns about the mother's ability to adequately parent her child, and the need for external resources to sustain the mother and child. However, these young mothers already experience high levels of stress and may find additional fulfillment in their role as parents.

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