Does adolescent motherhood affect education and labor market outcomes of mothers? A study on young adult women in Chile during 1990–2013

Abstract

Similar to results in developed countries, adolescent motherhood has negative consequences on women's education and labor outcomes, particularly on women that become mothers early in adolescence. Public policies aimed at reducing teen motherhood will have important effects on young women's education and employment.

Adolescent parenthood associated with adverse socio‐economic outcomes at age 30 years in women and men of the Pelotas, Brazil: 1982 Birth Cohort Study

“…11 In Latin America, the potential impact of adolescent motherhood on socio-economic outcomes later in life has been investigated previously in cross-sectional but not prospective studies. 18,[20][21][22][23] A cross-sectional survey conducted in Mexico, 21 including adults aged between 25 and 64 years, reported adverse effects of adolescent maternity on education in both short-term and long-term analysis models, as well as on household income, consistent with our findings. However, when making inferences regarding the causal effects of adolescent parenting, the strong possibility of potential confounding by factors that make adolescents susceptible to early sexual behaviours and pregnancy needs to be considered.…”

“…The impact of very early maternity (adolescents who had a child between the ages of 13 and 15 years) on socio‐economic outcomes was also studied in Chile using a propensity score matching methodology to compare women aged 24 years who had several similar characteristics, except for their adolescent mother status. Although a stronger adverse effect was also observed on education, the impact on own income by age 24 years found in Chilean women living in non‐poor households was not different regardless of whether maternity occurred in early or later adolescence . By contrast, our study design allowed for prospective measurement of detailed information on pre‐adolescent socio‐demographic factors, which were controlled for in the analysis models.…”

“…Although a stronger adverse effect was also observed on education, the impact on own income by age 24 years found in Chilean women living in non-poor households was not different regardless of whether maternity occurred in early or later adolescence. 23 By contrast, our study design allowed for prospective measurement of detailed information on pre-adolescent sociodemographic factors, which were controlled for in the analysis models.…”

“…In longitudinal studies conducted in South Africa, adolescent parenthood is clearly associated with poorer educational outcomes in early adulthood. [15][16][17] The evidence from Latin American countries is mainly from cross-sectional studies in women, [18][19][20][21][22][23] whereas, to our knowledge, no study has examined the potential socio-economic consequences of adolescent paternity in this setting.…”

Psychological and Social Effects of Pregnancy in Unmarried Young Women in Bui, Northwest, Cameroon

“…Dropping out of school can intensify the psychological distress and accompanying low self-esteem, which lowers their ambitions due to self-dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction with their environment and as their opportunities reduce. These women can further experience insecurities in how to get a livelihood as a disruption in education reduces their opportunities in the labour market and income earning capacities [21]. The problems of pregnancy in young women is not only theirs to reckon with, but affects the society as a whole as it increases the level of poverty, unemployment and low literacy rates which have negative effects on the society [18].…”