Motherhood during the teen years: A developmental perspective on risk factors for childbearing

The role of peer relations in childhood and behavioral and family character istics in early adolescence as risk factors for adolescent childbearing was investigated. Sociometric surveys across third, fourth, and fifth grade an d parent and child measures of behavioral and family functioning at sixth a nd eighth grade were collected in a lower income, urban sample of 308 Afric an American females. Results replicated earlier findings on the role of chi ldhood aggression as a predictor of teen motherhood. In addition, girls who displayed stable patterns of childhood aggression were at significantly hi gher risk not only to have children as teenagers but to have more children and to have children at younger ages. Results also indicated that females w ho were depressed in midadolescence were at greater risk to become parents between age 15 and 19 years. These findings demonstrate the need to take a differentiated approach to understanding teen childbearing and varying deve lopmental pathways in the prediction of teen motherhood.