Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs and Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy. Second Edition.

This text explores the impact of a teen birth on outcomes for mothers, fathers, and children, and attempts to identify whether the undesirable outcomes of teen pregnancy are attributable to the pregnancy itself or to the wider environment in which most of these pregnancies and the subsequent child rearing take place. It consists of a background study of trends in adolescent childbearing, seven coordinated studies that each focusing on a particular dimension of the problem, a summative assessment of the costs of teen births based on the measured consequences, and a review of what is known about the effectiveness of pregnancy prevention intervention strategies. Findings are shared from studies that address: the consequences of teen childbearing for mothers; the costs and consequences for the fathers; outcomes for children of teen mothers from kindergarten through adolescents; children's health and health care; consequences of teen childbearing for child abuse, neglect, and foster care placement; consequences of teen childbearing for incarceration among adult children; and consequences for young adults who were born to teens. Results from the studies indicate the economic costs for the teenage mothers are small, however, there are a myriad of consequences for the children of mothers who begin parenting as teenagers. Numerous references.