There are numerous social disadvantages of children born of teenage mothers. Due to the mother not being finished growing, limited opportunities for education or the factor of being a single parent add as stress factors that impact young children. According to Dr. Julia Morinis, lead author and researcher for the Centre for Research on Inner City Health of St. Michael’s Hospital, “It’s likely that being a teen mother is a risk factor that indicates poorer circumstance for development in some cases.” In a study done by the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), they look at the early years of life. Those years are the time where physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development happens most rapidly in a person’s …show more content…
The research suggests the young age of the mother with the outcome of the child, while a varying opinion of the research suggests the social disadvantage is the cause of the link of the child’s lesser development. Other analyses reported suggest girls who are disadvantaged in the realm of socioeconomic status, education-based factors, and other sociodemographic facets are most likely to become teen mothers. There are some variables in the study that were used to accurately depict findings. Demographics were taken into account and the mother’s health during the duration of the pregnancy. Another variable taken into account was household resources, whether or not they received governmental assistance for food and housing. Then, parenting behaviors were measured. How much time the mother spent with the child in a normal week running errands, reading books, telling stories, and singing songs with the child was determined and the frequency of such activities. Finally, the child’s health and development is measured. The first measurement is at birth, then the next is at nine months, and there’s one at two years. The study describes the life situations of teenage mothers and their children at nine months, then twenty-four, to predict behavioral outcomes at fifty-two months. The results from the study are pervasive. Teenage mothers’ children are brought into the world with a background of social disadvantage. Their mothers’ education level is lower, and they are
Early childhood is the most important phase of development in one’s lifespan as the experiences during childhood sets the course for later stages of development. It has been noted that a mother’s actions during pregnancy may influence the development of an infant. The developmental influences include prenatal, perinatal and neonatal environments. (Santrock, 2002) Although babies come into the world with no say or control over which family they will be placed into, or the environment in which they will begin to live in, theorists agree that the first two years are crucial, with early emotional, physical and social development influenced by the infant’s biological and environmental factors (Sigelman, Rider, & De-George Walker, 2013). The
There are long term negative effects on the teen parent which carries over long after the baby is born. Teen mothers are less likely to finish high school than their peers who are not mothers (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Adolescent parents are often poor relying on social services and many times as adults they are unemployed or underemployed (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). The families who are affected by this social issue take on the responsibilities to try to overcome the negatives. However the families are now dealing
Over the years, the role of mother in the life of their children has been crucial and prominent. The child’s first education starts at home with their mother. The mother teaches the child how to walk, how to talk, and how to become a strong man or woman in the society. Some mothers will even stop going to work in order to take care of their kids so that they can be a better person and a good citizen.
Teenage pregnancy and parenthood are often seen as strictly negative and problematic, with the moral panic surrounding them only growing as media and government play a role in perpetuating these ideas of negativity surrounding them. Though it is a contentious issue, what are often ignored are the underlying causes of the social phenomena that are teenage pregnancy and parenthood. The experiences of poverty and social exclusion by many pregnant teens and teen parents have not been proven to be more severe than what these young people were experiencing before, so it brings into question the validity of the moral panic as well as the aims of programs meant to decrease teen pregnancy and parenthood. Looking at teen pregnancy and parenthood, first
Each of the participants agreed for the followup, and they were eventually reached by telephone or letter around their child’s 12th birthday. Beforehand, the researchers visited the mothers and children in their homes and employed the use of standardized interviews and questionnaires. There was a total of two interviews: one with the mother and one with the child.
This investigation of maternal age is related to the area of study ‘sociocultural influences’ as it addresses the topics of family structures and environments and the ways in which these support the needs of the behavioural, cognitive and social and emotional development of children aged 0-8 years, as well as the roles and responsibilities of parents in the nurturing of children.
They did not provide more concrete evidence which would support their claims that Teen Parenting Can Be Beneficial. First, when the authors talked about the research that was done in U.S. showed how many teen mothers had a little effect on their social lives did not provide a range of people that were actually affected and which were not affected. Another problem with the algebra used in the authors’ use of logo is misused. It does not mean social disadvantage was the reason why a teen had gotten pregnant. In my experience, there are many people I knew who were at social disadvantage who did not even become teen parents. For example, there are tons of villages in India who have a rule that if a girl gets pregnant before she got married is consider to be a crime and is usually disowned and some cases was hanged with whom she performed the act
The definition of early life as a social determinant of health given by Rumbold and Dickson-Swift is “A good start in life means supporting mothers and young children.” (Rumbold & Dickson-Swift, 2012, p. 180). Early life describes the period from prenatal development to eight years of age, and is a time of remarkable brain growth and development, this period establishes the foundations for subsequent development and learning (Siddiqi, Irwin, & Hertzman, 2007).
While evidence suggests that giving birth as a teenager is often associated with economic hardships, numerous researchers argue that these hardships were in place before the pregnancy and that the birth of the baby itself does not have a significant negative impact on the socioeconomic status (SES) on the adolescent mother. While women who give birth as teenagers are more likely
Developmental Psychology has widened my perspective and knowledge of the nature of development from humans’ infancy to adolescence and emerging adulthood. Although I have learned about biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes and periods of development, I am especially interested in socioemotional development in infancy because it is the foundation for a child’s future development. That is to say, if children have a healthy socioemotional development from infancy, they will have a healthy life later on. By understanding the developmental process in infancy, I will be fully prepared when I have children or when my family’s members do.
The life-span perspective is a modern scientific approach to the study of human development that accounts for all phases of life including childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and it breaks each phase into individual stages of development (Berger,2014). This perspective suggests that development is multidirectional, metacontextual, and all stages of development are important and play a crucial role in the individuals cognitive health (Berger,2014). The stages of development are categorized as infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, adulthood, and late adulthood. For the purpose of this paper I will be focusing on the infancy stage due to the importance of cognitive development before the age of two, middle childhood due to a child’s social structure becoming a defining factor in their lives, and emerging adulthood due to the stresses that an individual must endure while maturing into a young adult.
Economic circumstances has an influence on multiple areas that affect infant development. Income related difference in parenting appear early in the infants life; for instance, on average low income mothers are less affeffectionate, less responsive to infants’ distress signals, and they are more likely to have harsh parenting styles. Children from a low income have fewer stimulating experiences and learning materials than children from higher income households. This leads to apparent differences that during the first years and often last into adulthood. One of those differences are that the children from low income are more likely to have increased behavioral problems and lower cognitive scores. Furthermore, children from a high income family usually experience psychological stress because the parents pressure the child to overachieve. The financial situation can also affect if the infant is able to get the nutrition intake that is needed, and if the infant is unable to get the right nutrition that will lead to other areas of development being affected.Financial situations
By having all these new problems to deal with without a fully developed maturity the mother can also suffer from emotional and mental stagnation. Her peers may reject her as society deems teenage pregnancy unacceptable. She may feel humiliated and ashamed after her pregnancy begins to show, so then she refuses to finish school and as a result she lessens her ability to effectively raise her child. When teenage mother are pregnant, they are the least likely of all maternal age groups to get early and regular prenatal care. There are many teen mothers who receive late or no prenatal care at all. After giving birth, the majority of girls drop out of school in order to care of the baby. If there is no one else to share the endless amount of work, she must assume full responsibility. She may be forced to pursue employment with a minimal of earning potential due to her lack of education. This scenario tends to breed an unstable and financially insecure parent, and the child may also suffer from neglect by the constantly working mother.
Like Amy and Loeber (2009), when it comes to the ecological paradigm of teenage pregnancy, Corcoran, Franklin, and Bennett (2000) also believe one’s socioeconomic status is a huge factor that contributes to this problem. A person’s socioeconomic status a lot of times determines “education, expanded family size, single-parent household structure, and lessened resources in terms of employment and income.” These three authors claim that educational performance and goals “dictate the potential costs of child bearing at a young age.” Their studies have also shown that teenage girls’ relationships with the school setting and poorer performance in school serve a greater risk for adolescent pregnancy.
Teen pregnancy is a very controversial social issue and the vast majority of Americans consider the outrageous rate of teen pregnancies a severe issue, certainly a problematic occurrence that is believed to be a moral decline in our country. Teenagers are physiologically capable of reproducing but not emotionally or financially prepared to be parents at such a tender age. Through various research studies a plethora of determinants has pin pointed teens unprecedented pregnancies. One cause of this problem is the apparent indication of social separation or disadvantage. Within this issue you would find poverty, single parent households, educational disadvantages on the parents behalf, a lack family/parental support, and unemployment. A child’s educational performance, inappropriate sexual acts, and inferior apprehensions about their futures play a vital role in teen pregnancies as well. Amongst the listed disadvantages the three that take precedent are lacks of family communication, sexual abuse, and poverty. Furthermore, teen mothers do not fit the ideal ideology of the normative scheduling of motherhood, therefore, ultimately resulting in negative consequences for them and society. What needs to be understood is, as to why the numbers of teens are becoming parents at such a vernal age.