This project involves analyses of data from two large nationally- representative samples as well as smaller samples. The goal is to describe the psychosocial context of adolescent parenthood and to explore the long-term effects for both mothers and fathers. A. Characteristics of adolescent fathers. Regardless of race, adolescent parenthood was found to be but one symptom of a wider variety of psychosocial problems. Compared with nonfathers and nonmothers of similar ages and backgrounds, adolescent parents were much more likely to have a history of involvement with the police, school problems, and substance abuse. The problem behavior syndrome was especially marked among adolescent men. A smaller study showed that adolescent fathers differ in their attitudes and expectations from adult fathers, and that adult fathers with adolescent partners resembled adolescent fathers more than adult fathers with adult partners. B. Long-term correlates of adolescent parenthood. Adolescent marriage was associated in both men and women with deficits in marital stability, income, educational attainment, and occupational prestige through at least 40 years after the marriage. For mothers, both adolescent childbearing and adolescent marriage were associated with higher lifetime fertility, lower income, less prestigious occupational ratings, lower educational attainment, and more frequent marital dissolution. The """"""""best"""""""" outcomes were obtained by those women who delayed both childbearing and marriage into adulthood. Evidently, adolescent parenthood is not a random event. It may also have long-term effects on the psychological and socioeconomic status of both men and women.
