Teenage mothering: child development at five years.
Developmental outcome at 5 yr was compared in 1031 singleton children of teenage mothers and 10,950 singleton children of older mothers in a national longitudinal study. Children born to teenage mothers and living with them through the first 5 yr performed less well than other children in tests of vocabulary and behaviour at 5 yr of age; they were also shorter on average and had a smaller head circumference. These differences remained significant after allowing for certain social and biological factors, whereas a difference on visuomotor coordination did not. Teenage mothering thus appears somewhat disadvantageous to children's development.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development; D002668:Child Rearing; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012306:Risk; D012917:Social Adjustment