Children of teen mothers have worse academic, labor market, and behavioral outcomes in the United States, but it is not clear whether these poor outcomes are caused by having a young mother or driven by selection into teen motherhood. Understanding the reasoning behind poor child outcomes is important for designing effective policies to improve…

This longitudinal study tested the contribution of age and marital status at first birth to depressive symptomatology in early adulthood. Findings indicated that unmarried teenage childbearers displayed higher levels of depressive symptoms than women who first gave birth as married adults. The psychological health of married teenage mothers in…