Explores the impact of teenage pregnancy and childbearing on the families of the adolescents and examines the amount and type of support extended by the family of origin to the pregnant teenager. (Author/GC)

Today, among adolescents, childbearing may precede rather than follow marriage. Evidence suggests that adolescent childbearers now rely heavily on their families to provide needed support. Among a sample of 320 adolescent, mostly black mothers from low-income families, most spent a majority of their early years of parenthood in an extended family…

Critics who advocate encouraging pregnant teenagers to marry are mistaken. Teen marriages are distinctly less stable than marriages that occur after age twenty. Later marriers are less likely to be on welfare and are likely to have more education and fewer children. A hasty marriage makes a bad situation worse. (BJV)

Reviews research on the changing patterns of childbearing among adolescents and the impact of premature parenthood on the life course of young mothers and their children. The evidence supports the need for more integration among services and the importance of increasing the availability of services to those in need. (Author/BJV)

Applies Coleman's concept of social capital to understand differences in development among at-risk youth. Utilized data from longitudinal study of 252 children of teenage mothers to explore relationships between social capital and success. Results suggest social capital plays a role in helping youth negotiate their way out of disadvantage. (JBJ)