Mollborn Stefanie
University of Colorado Boulder.
Child Dev Perspect. 2017 Mar;11(1):63-69. doi: 10.1111/cdep.12205. Epub 2016 Nov 7.
Over the past two decades, births to U.S. teenagers have fallen and no longer follow overall fertility patterns. Yet the unique challenges faced by teenage mothers and their families justify continued research. Across disciplines, newer work has furthered our understanding of teenage motherhood today. In this article, I highlight four areas of progress: processes of selection into teenage motherhood, the broader consequences of teenage childbearing beyond the socioeconomic realm, heterogeneity of effects, and the application of life course principles. Emerging societal trends such as complex family structures, a stalled recovery from the recession for families of low socioeconomic status, and a rapidly evolving political environment for reproductive health care continue to challenge the lives of teenage mothers. Given that the consequences for teenagers of becoming mothers may change, continued research is needed. Shifts in policy to favor supporting teenage mothers and addressing the causes of both teenage pregnancy and social disadvantage may help improve the lives of these mothers and their families.
在过去二十年里，美国青少年生育数量下降，且不再遵循总体生育率模式。然而，青少年母亲及其家庭面临的独特挑战使得继续开展研究具有合理性。跨学科的最新研究成果加深了我们对当今青少年母亲身份的理解。在本文中，我将重点介绍四个进展领域：青少年母亲身份的选择过程、青少年生育在社会经济领域之外的更广泛影响、影响的异质性以及生命历程原则的应用。复杂的家庭结构、社会经济地位较低家庭经济衰退复苏停滞以及生殖健康护理政治环境迅速演变等新兴社会趋势，继续给青少年母亲的生活带来挑战。鉴于成为母亲对青少年的影响可能发生变化，仍需继续开展研究。政策转向支持青少年母亲并解决青少年怀孕和社会劣势的成因，可能有助于改善这些母亲及其家庭的生活。
