Introduction
Teenage pregnancy is one of the pertinent issues that continue to elicit debate in the United States. It is estimated that one million teenagers in America are impregnated each year with about 200, 000 giving birth for the first time. Teenage pregnancies account for almost twenty percent of all births in the United States. The economic cost to the nation is huge considering that the teenagers are forced to terminate their studies, get married and eventually join the unskilled human labor. Increased government spending on health care, support and rehabilitation and correction centers is draining the coffers (The Guttmacher Institute, 2006). This research paper will look into why children born to adolescent mothers are at higher risk for developmental issues.
According to Burgess (2005, p.249), the children born to adolescent mothers are believed to experience developmental challenges that make them unable to function effectively when compared to their peers. This has led many researchers to carry out studies on the consequences and challenges of adolescent motherhood. Burgess (2005, p.250) noted that these children tend to perform poorly in exams and cognitive development. Low grades in achievement tests and language proficiency have been observed in majority of these cases. Pogarsky, Thornberry and Lizotte (2006, p.332), also noted that children born by adolescent mothers are prone to several negative outcomes which range from internal and external problems that have dire consequences for the children.
The propensity of the children experiencing emotional disturbances are high leading to school dropouts and involvement in violent behavior. However, few studies have been done to assess the overall internal and external effects in the children born by adolescent mothers (Pogarsky et al, 2006, p.332). The children born to adolescent mothers are at higher risk to undergo and experience challenges in their development.
The transition into parenthood at adolescence stage is the main setback that leads to children developmental challenges. According to Pogarsky et al (2006, p.333), early motherhood denies the mother the chance to acquire skills that are vital in amassing and consolidating financial resources. Lack of proper education ensures the young parents are trapped in poverty at their productive and career foundation years thus perpetuating later in life. Instability and confrontation are the norm in the adolescent marriages lowering their chance of making investments.
According to Carothers, Borkowski and Whitman (2006, p.827), the development of behaviors and the coping mechanisms in children is determined by the stressors and the environment they grow up. Children of teen mothers are usually brought up in hardships and social decay that play a role in discouraging them making them resort to negative behavior. A constellation of factors that make adolescent motherhood hard are responsible for the predicaments that face the children. Carothers et al noted that poverty and the limitations in accessing maternal education force the mothers to bring up their children in uncivilized manner. The instability inherent in teenage marriages and limited economic status of the family means the children will lack access to basic items thus putting them at a disadvantage when compared with their peers. Poverty and life in informal settlements makes them vulnerable in joining criminal gangs, prostitution and drug abuse (Carothers et al, 2006, p. 206). Studies have shown that early parenthood does not only affect the psychological development but also behaviors uptake and interpersonal relationships. That notwithstanding, these children can impede the development of their close associates by negative influence occasioned by lack of sense of purpose. The lack of emphasize and motivation from the mothers also makes them to have less value for education.
Methodology
It involved literature review of past researches and publications that provided important data on the teenage pregnancy, motherhood and development outcomes.
The survey was designed to collect information on the risks exposed to a child born by adolescent mothers. Negative outcomes associated with this set up were also assessed. The study also looked into the role played by the negative relationships and emotional instability in the mother had in shaping the development outcomes in the children. Qualitative data from the literature review was analyzed to address the research questions.
Results
This research found out that parental divorce, poverty and residential instability as being responsible in shaping the behaviors of the children. The negative relationships the adolescent mothers had with their spouses had harmful influences in their children since it made the children emotionally disturbed. There was also the tendency of young girls who grew up in a disadvantaged setting to get pregnant and eventually take care of the child alone. There was also strong evidence that showed that boys born in adolescent motherhood were more likely to be involved in criminal activities and drug abuse (see table 1). Poverty in single motherhood played a major role in instilling negative outcome in the children and the overall development of the family.
Discussion
The development of a child is a process that needs to be properly guided by the parents and the entire family. To ensure this, serenity must prevail in the homes. Parental divorce which is a major characteristic of adolescent marriages impedes on the child development since the parents do not give their children the much needed love. Poverty is rife in these homes owing to the limitation such as low level of education and lack of skills to warrant the mothers a good job.
According to Carothers et al (2006, p.834), these conditions make the children in these marriages very vulnerable to influences that may bring negative development outcomes in their lives. Residential instability brought about by job switches, family instability and poverty is another factor that impede on the children acquiring emotional and psychological stability. This is because the children are not given enough time and space to make friends and adapt to various environments. This makes them frustrated and regretful of the way they are living. The exposure to these challenging situations leads to unprecenteded numbers of children falling into bad behaviors and criminal activities (Carothers et al, 2006, p. 834). There is a link between exposure to challenging situations and the socio emotional adjustments as Carothers et al found in their study. The socioemotional adjustments encompass anxiety brought by fear of the unknown, depression and poor development outcomes in dealing with stresses, depression and other external factors.
The mother’s emotional instability during the growth of the child is known to influence their development in a very big way. Many researchers have found the relationships that the adolescent mothers are in are not only important in reinforcing values but also affect the spiritual, emotional and attitudes development in the child.
Shapkar, Jenkins and Sorenson (2006, p.780), found out that a strong relationship exist between the anger fuelled partners’ conflict and the adoption of externalizing determinants in the child. The exposure to anger based conflict makes the children adopt aggressive behaviors which include fighting and rudeness.
Although the mother’s anger did not confer oppositional behaviors, it actually had a partial role in inducing aggressiveness particularly in the girl child (Shapkar et al, 2006, p.780). The confrontations, name calling and the physical fighting made the children feel that they can also challenge others. This is mainly evident in girls who end up indulging in activities that require aggressiveness.
Children particularly girls born by adolescent motherhood were more likely to end up having children at adolescent stage owing to the sense of loneliness and desperation. This is brought about by the separation from their parents where they end up in foster or friends homes. During this time, they fail to develop strong relationships with their parents. This leads them to find ways of relieving their emotional attachment with some resulting to sexual relationships at their tender age (Knight, Chase and Aggletton, 2006). This is according to studies done in residential care homes which found that the children involved themselves in sexual relationship as a form of relieving emotions when they lacked or were skeptical of seeking audience with their carers. Moreover, the carers were not interested in the private life of the children (Knight et al, 2006). The young people admission that having a baby would boost their sense of belonging was appalling. This made them view this as a solution to their emotional problems.
The children born in adolescent motherhood are more likely to end up with miserable life. This is due to the limited opportunities and exposure they get from their mothers. Pogarsky et al (2006, p.340), noted that limited educational attainment particularly in mothers is a clear pointer of imminent misery for her siblings. Boys born in these settings had more than average risks of living a disorderly life characterized by many problems and limited opportunities. According to the study, the boys were more likely to get involved in gangs while at the same time faced the brunt of unemployment and early parenting. Others factors thought to influence this outcome in the children are the indulgence in drugs by the mothers and ineffective parenting (Pogarsky et al, 2006, p.340).
Both boys and girls are susceptible to the same factors responsible for shaping their antisocial behavior. However, it is worth noting that boys are more susceptible to effects of family stressors thus suffering unique challenges to their lives. For instance, violence in the family may leave the boys homeless while the girls take refuge with their mothers. The girls are not spared either since they also experience negative outcome although at lesser extent compared to the boys. The girls are faced with the burden of rearing babies at their teens.
Poverty is the single most factor that has the greatest influence in the development of outcomes. While it may be hard to ascertain the level of poverty in these families, the impacts are far reaching to both the mother and the children. The mother and the children experience elevated risks to becoming stressed and depressed. The effects of emotional instability of the mother may actively or passively be passed to the siblings inducing deleterious outcomes in their lives. Poverty also denies the children access to basic things that are vital in physical and emotional development. This puts them at a disadvantage and makes them vulnerable to criminal gangs due to the socioeconomic limitations and low exposure levels. The perpetuation of poverty in the lives of the children makes them to believe that they are doomed to live miserable lives. Poverty kills ambition and limits the development of the children born in adolescent motherhood thereby leading to negative outcomes that are contrary to social fabric. (Sawmill 2006).
Conclusion
Teenage pregnancy is on the increase globally with fears that children born by these teenage mother could end up with compromised development in terms of their personality. Teenage pregnancy has continued to haunt the American society with one million teenagers believed to become pregnant annually and an estimated 200,000 giving birth. Children born in adolescent motherhood face development challenges that make them unable to compete with their peers. Poverty and low maternal education are believed to be responsible for negative development outcomes in children born in adolescent motherhood. The most notable negative outcomes are enrolment in criminal gangs, aggressive behavior, drug abuse and early parenthood. Anger led parental conflicts and emotional instability of the mother may lead to the development of oppositional behaviors in the children. Poverty in single motherhood plays a major role in shaping developmental outcomes. For example, children born in a family that is financially poor may be forced to adopt an antisocial behavior as a remedy to survival. Moreover, their test grades and language proficiency are also observed to be increasingly lower in comparison with that of their peers. Finally, poverty and adolescent motherhood puts children in a greater risk of development issues.
Reference
Burgess, S. (2005). The preschool home literacy environment provided by teenage mothers. Early Child Development and Care. 175(3): 249–258.
Carothers, S., Borkowski, J., & Whitman, T. (2006). Children of Adolescent Mothers: Exposure to Negative Life Events and the Role of Social Supports on Their Socioemotional Adjustment. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 35(5):, 822-32.
Jenkins, J., Shapka, J., & Sorenson, A. (2006). Teenage mothers’ anger over twelve years: partner conflict, partner transitions and children’s anger. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 47(8): 775-782.
Knight, A., Chase, E., & Aggleton, P. (2006). ‘Someone of Your Own to Love’: Experiences of Being Looked After as Influences on Teenage Pregnancy. Children & Society, 20(5): 391-403.
Pogarsky, G., Thornberry, T., & Lizotte, A. (2006). Developmental Outcomes for Children of Young Mothers. Journal of Marriage & Family, 68(2): 332-344. Web.
Sawmill. (2006).Teenage Sex, Pregnancy, and Non marital Births. Gender Issues, 23(4): 48-59.
The Guttmacher Institute. (2006) U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity. New York: The Guttmacher Institute.
Appendix
Table 1. Testing the Early First Birth Effect for Various Child Outcomes
Note: Each model also controls for mother’s age at study child’s birth and race/ethnicity, except that Model 2 is confined to African American girls because no White or Hispanic girls were gang members during the reference period. The model improvement χ2statistic is −2(log likelihoodreduced model− log likelihoodfull model) where the reduced model excludes the two indicator variables for mother’s age at first birth. For each model χ2test, df= 2. Robust, White-corrected standard errors are in parentheses adjacent to each regression coefficient.
- a Negative binomial regression.
- b Regression coefficients in Model 1 are statistically distinguishable between boys and girls at p <.05.
- c Logistic regression.
- d Ordinary Least Squares regression.
- * p <.05.
- ** p <.01.