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A Developmental Approach to Prevention Research: Configural Antecedents of Early Parenthood
Author(s) -
Gest Scott D.,
Mahoney Joseph L.,
Cairns Robert B.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1023/a:1022185312277
Subject(s) - psychology , health psychology , longitudinal study , developmental psychology , socioeconomic status , aggression , intervention (counseling) , popularity , public health , clinical psychology , demography , social psychology , population , medicine , nursing , pathology , psychiatry , sociology
A developmental framework emphasizing the combined impact of correlated constraints within and without the individual was applied to a prospective longitudinal study of early parenthood. The purpose was to use a person‐approach to the analysis of longitudinal data to clarify risk for early parenthood and to generate hypotheses about potentially useful intervention strategies. Respondents were 475 youth who were assessed annually from seventh grade through the end of high school and, again, at ages 20 and 24. The risk patterns associated with parenthood were the same for both sexes. Individuals with a middle‐school configuration of low socioeconomic status, high aggression, low academic skills, low popularity, and prior grade failure were most likely to become parents by early adulthood. Risk for early parenthood increased substantially for respondents who dropped out of school early, regardless of their initial risk status.