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Adolescent Pregnancy's Intergenerational Effects: Does an Adolescent Mother's Education Have Consequences for Her Children's Achievement?
Author(s) -
Tang Sandra,
DavisKean Pamela E.,
Chen Meichu,
Sexton Holly R.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12182
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , academic achievement , educational attainment , economics , economic growth
Although substantial work has examined the influence of adolescent pregnancy on mothers’ developmental outcomes, few studies have investigated the influence of adolescent mothers’ educational attainment on their children's achievement. This article examined the reading and math achievement trajectories of children born to adolescent and nonadolescent mothers with various levels of educational attainment. Results demonstrate that higher levels of maternal education predicted children's higher initial achievement at kindergarten and growth in achievement through eighth grade. The achievement of children with adolescent mothers, however, never reaches parity with the achievement of their peers with nonadolescent mothers. Race also predicted achievement differences. Black and L atino children of adolescent mothers were at greater risk for underachievement.