Describe the ways that the lives of expectant teenagers tend to worsen with regard to educational attainment, marital patterns, and economic circumstances after the baby is born

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The lives of expectant teenagers, already troubled in many ways, tend to worsen in several respects after the baby is born:
– Educational attainment. Parenthood before age 18 reduces the likelihood of finishing high school. Only about 70 percent of U.S. adolescent mothers graduate, compared with 95 percent of girls who wait to become parents.
– Marital patterns. Teenage motherhood reduces the chances of marriage and, for those who do marry, increases the likelihood of divorce compared with peers who delay childbearing. Consequently, teenage mothers spend more of their parenting years as single parents. About 35 percent become pregnant again within two years. Of these, about half go on to deliver a second child.
– Economic circumstances. Because of low educational attainment, marital instability, and poverty, many teenage mothers are on welfare or work in unsatisfying, low-paid jobs. Similarly, many adolescent fathers are unemployed or earn too little to provide their children with basic necessities. An estimated 50 percent have committed illegal offenses resulting in imprisonment. And for both mothers and fathers, reduced educational and occupational attainment often persists well into adulthood.