Many factors at the individual, relationship, family, and community or environmental levels could predict repeat teen pregnancies or births, but research on certain factors is limited. In addition, few studies have examined whether these factors can accurately predict whether teen mothers will have a repeat pregnancy. This study examined…

The study determined personal-socio-contextual influences that predicted the perceived quality of relationships with Batswana early teenage mothers. The participants were 86 Botswana high school students (mean age 18.97, SD = 1.76) with motherhood. They completed a numerical measure of adjustment to teenage motherhood in the context of family,…

Trajectories of depressive symptoms were compared between European American and African American boys and girls from ages 8 to 14 in a longitudinal sample of 130 children born to adolescent mothers. Mixed-effects regression modeling was used to analyze individual and group differences in level of depressive symptoms and their changes over time.…

Home visiting is a child abuse prevention strategy that seeks to optimize child development by providing mothers with support, training, and parenting information. Research has consistently found high rates of depression in mothers participating in home visiting programs and low levels of obtaining mental health treatment in the community.…

Objective: This study examined associations between age of menarche and psychosocial outcomes in early adulthood, including sexual behavior, mental health, criminal behavior, and education/employment, to identify the possible causal role of earlier age of menarche in increasing risks of adverse outcomes. Method: Data were gathered from 497 female…

This study examined the association between fathers' and mothers' risk factors and paternal engagement 1 and 3 years postbirth. Distinguishing between new and persistent risk factors, we tested whether cumulative risk has unique effects on couples where one or both parents are adolescents at birth. Results indicated that although fathers' and…

This 30-year longitudinal study examined pathways from problematic childhood behavior patterns to future disadvantaged conditions for family environment and child rearing in adulthood. Participants were mothers (n = 328) and fathers (n = 222) with lower income backgrounds participating in the ongoing Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. Structural…

Examined 475 adolescents from Grade 7 through early adulthood to identify antecedents and pathways of teen parenthood. Found that teen fatherhood and motherhood were predicted by individual and peer configurations such as a combination of high aggression, low academic competence, low popularity, and low family SES. Peer characteristics, race, and…

This study examined differences between the positive mother-infant interactions of adolescents and those of young adult mothers, both before and after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES) and educational level. The study also investigated factors related to adolescents' early and later maternal-infant interaction patterns. Subjects were 100…

Data from national sample of 3- to 16-year-olds show that lower test scores and increased behavior problems of children of younger mothers resulted from family background rather than maternal age. For nonfirstborns, maternal age at first birth, not at child's birth, influenced test scores. Disadvantage of children born to younger mothers was…

This study investigated predictors of depression in 278 African-American, 206 European-American, and 122 Hispanic teen mothers approximately 36 months after the birth while controlling for depression 14 months after the birth. Predictor variables were age, ethnicity, mastery, knowledge of development, and parental distress. Younger teens were not…