title: Teenage childbirth and young adult criminal convictions: A quasi-experimental study of criminal outcomes for teenage mothers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Teenage childbirth is associated with poor psychosocial outcomes for teen mothers. One example is that teen mothers have higher rates of antisocial behavior. The extant research has not been able to determine if teenage motherhood is independently associated with criminal behavior, or if the association is due to selection factors associated with both teenage childbirth and criminal behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used longitudinal data from Swedish national registers and sibling-comparisons (both full- and half-siblings) to identify the extent to which there is an independent association between teenage childbirth and mothers' likelihood of criminal conviction between ages 20-30, or if the association is confounded by familial (including genetic or environmental) factors that make sisters similar.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women who began childbearing as teenagers were more likely to be convicted of a crime in young adulthood compared to women who delayed childbearing. When sisters were compared, the association between teenage childbirth and criminal convictions disappeared. Multivariate behavior genetic analyses suggest genetic and shared environmental account for the association.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The statistical association between teenage childbirth and early adulthood criminal convictions is confounded by genetic and shared environmental factors that influence both the likelihood of teenage childbirth and risk of early adulthood criminal conviction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405.
authors.forename: Claire A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Coyne
authors.forename: Nathalie M G
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Fontaine
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Långström
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lichtenstein
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: D'Onofrio
keywords: Teenage mothers; criminality; teenage childbirth
references.citation: Adv Child Dev Behav. 2012;42:113-52
references.pmid: 22675905
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1999 Mar;40(3):479-89
references.pmid: 10190348
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 1999 Winter;11(1):85-100
references.pmid: 10208357
references.citation: Child Dev. 2003 May-Jun;74(3):801-21
references.pmid: 12795391
references.citation: Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2009 Dec;41(4):210-7
references.pmid: 20444174
references.citation: Behav Genet. 2004 Jan;34(1):17-40
references.pmid: 14739694
references.citation: Am Psychol. 1998 Feb;53(2):152-66
references.pmid: 9491745
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 2013 Oct;103 Suppl 1:S46-55
references.pmid: 23927516
references.citation: Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2010 Oct;19(5):319-323
references.pmid: 23645975
references.citation: JAMA. 2009 May 20;301(19):2016-23
references.pmid: 19454640
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2001 May;127(3):291-324
references.pmid: 11393298
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 1999 Winter;11(1):127-41
references.pmid: 10208359
references.citation: Fam Plann Perspect. 2001 Nov-Dec;33(6):244-50, 281
references.pmid: 11804433
references.citation: J Interpers Violence. 2009 Aug;24(8):1358-70
references.pmid: 18701743
references.citation: Genet Epidemiol. 1994;11(6):523-38
references.pmid: 7713393
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009 Apr;50(4):363-85
references.pmid: 19236525
references.citation: Fam Plann Perspect. 2001 Mar-Apr;33(2):75-80
references.pmid: 11330854
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 1991 Dec;12(8):597-605
references.pmid: 1799569