Premium
Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Material Resources and Teenage Parenthood
Author(s) -
Mollborn Stefanie
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00347.x
Subject(s) - educational attainment , sample (material) , psychology , developmental psychology , child care , demographic economics , medicine , economics , economic growth , nursing , chemistry , chromatography
Past research has largely ignored the influence of material resources on teenage parents’ life outcomes. A lack of resources such as housing, child care, and financial support is hypothesized to explain the negative effect of teenage parenthood on educational attainment. Regression analyses use nationally representative data from the 1988 – 2000 National Education Longitudinal Study ( N = 8,432, n = 356 teenage parents). Results support the hypothesis completely for the teenage fathers in the sample and partially for mothers: Resources substantially diminish the educational penalty teenage parents paid by age 26. Gender influences which types of resources are protective, providing policy implications. Help with child care is critical for teenage mothers, whereas housing and financial resources may be important for men.