Pathways to adversity in young adulthood among early childbearers

Women who give birth as teens differ from those who delay childbearing before and after a birth. These preexisting differences may account for the adverse outcomes faced by early childbearers in young adulthood. This study tested whether a history of conduct disorder, low IQ and educational attainment, and low childhood socioeconomic status accounted for poor psychosocial adjustment at age 26 among early childbearers. Study members were 482 women in a birth cohort, 26% of whom had given birth by age 26 in 1999. Findings supported the hypothesis that individual and family background factors partially accounted for the adverse socioeconomic, mental health, and interpersonal outcomes faced by young mothers. However, early childbearing exacerbated the difficulties associated with these risk factors.