YOUTH & FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION INFORMATION UPDATE:

KIDS HAVING KIDS

Each year, nearly one million teens in the US, approximately 10% of all 15-19 year old females -- become pregnant. About 1/3 of these teens abort their pregnancies, 14% miscarry, and 52% (or more than half a million teens) bear children, 72% of them out of wedlock. Of the half a million teens giving birth, roughly 3/4 are giving birth for the first time.

These young mothers and their offspring are especially vulnerable to severe adverse social and economic consequences. More than 80% of these young mothers end up in poverty and reliant on welfare.

The teen birthrate in the US is the highest of any industrialized nation, nearly twice as great as the next highest, the United Kingdom, and more than 15 times that of Japan.

The Robin Hood Foundation commissioned some of the nation's leading scholars to research this issue and have recently released a summary report. The following provides a brief summary of the major findings:

Consequences for the children of adolescent mothers

Children of adolescent mothers are more likely than children of later childbearers to have health and cognitive disadvantages and to be neglected or abused.

A. Low Birthweight Babies - The children of adolescents are more likely to be born prematurely and 50% more likely to be low-birthweight babies -- of less than 5.5 lbs. Low birthweight raises the probabilities of a variety of adverse conditions such as infant death, blindness, deafness, chronic respiratory problems, mental retardation, mental illness, and cerebral palsy. It also doubles the chance a child will later be diagnosed as having dyslexia, hyperactivity, or another disability.

B. Childhood Health Problems - The children of adolescent moms tend to suffer poorer health than do the children of women who were age 20 or 21 when their first child was born.

C. Children of adolescent moms are 2-3 times more likely than the children of their older childbearing counterparts to report having run away from home between the ages of 12 to 16.

D. Children of adolescent moms are also far more likely to be physically abused, abandoned, and neglected.


Consequences for adolescent mothers

• 7 out of 10 will drop out of high school
• During the first 13 years of parenthood, adolescent moms earn an average of about $5,600.00 annually, less than half the poverty level.
• Adolesent moms spend nearly five times more of their young adult years as single parents than do women who have their first child at age 20 or 21.

Consequences for the fathers

• Boys are 1/3 as likely as girls to become adolescent parents.
• Each year fewer than 60,000 boys age 17 and younger father children for the first time.
• The fathers of children born to adolescent mothers are, on average, 2.5 years older than the mom; in 1/5 of the cases, the fathers are at least six years older. Recent research also suggests that the incidence of pregnancy among adolescent girls often is the result of sexually predatory behavior of older men.

Adolescent Dads

• Finish an average of only 11.3 years of school by the age of 27, compared with nearly 13 years by their counterparts who delay fathering until age 21.
• By age 27, adolescent fathers earn, on average, $4,732 less annually than the comparison group of men who delay fathering until age 20 or 21.

Dads of children born to adolescent moms

• On average, earn about $3,000 less per year than the partners of delayed childbearers.
• Fathers who do not marry the adolescent mothers of their children have incomes sufficient to contribute support but only about 15% of adolescent moms are ever awarded child support.

For a copy of the complete report:
A condensed version of the Kids Having Kids Report is available from The Robin Hood Foundation, 111 Broadway, New York, NY 10006. For a longer, much more academic version (cost $22.95), contact the Urban Institute at 202-857-8687.


INEXPENSIVE OR FREE RESOURCES

The 1997 Read*Write*Now! Kit. Families can request one regular kit, and community-based tutoring programs working with many children can request one camera-ready kit by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN.

Teen Risk Behaviors
Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit organization has added three new fact sheets to its materials for school-based and school-linked health care centers. The fact sheets are based on recent research about risk behaviors of teens. "Substance Abuse Among Youth," is an overview of findings on the link between substance abuse and other teen risk behaviors. "Adolescents, HIV/AIDS, and other STDs," focuses on strategies that have fostered more safe behavior. "Adolescents and Abortion," covers statistics related to teens choosing abortion and the impact of laws on minors' access to abortion. To order: contact Advocates for Youth, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington DC 20005, 202-347-5700. FREE.

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System monitors health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults that contribute to injury, illness, and death. The most recent survey, conducted in 1995 suggests that many high school students practice behaviors that may increase their likelihood of dying from the four leading causes of death in this age range ( motor vehicle crashes, unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide). Contributing behaviors included not using a safety belt, riding with a driver who had been drinking, carrying a weapon, and using alcohol and drugs. To order: contact Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Health Promotion, 770-488-5330. FREE.

My Parents are Getting Divorced: A Handbook for Kids provides tips for coping with anger, sadness, loneliness, relief, confusion, guilt, and fear. To order, contact the Family Law Section, American Bar Association, Publication Orders, PO Box 10892, Chicago, IL 60610-0892, 312-988-5522. $9.50.

A Vision for Families
"Realizing a Vision for Children, Families, and Neighborhoods: An Alternative to Other Modest Proposals" is a policy paper to professionals who are proponents of reform on behalf of disadvantaged children. This paper was published by the Child and Family Policy Center in Des Moines - to order: contact the National Center for Service Integration, c/o Child and Family Policy Center, 1021 Fleming Building, 218 Sixth Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50309-4006, 515-280-9027. $4.00.