Child maltreatment and teenage first births: a relationship mediated by chronic sociodemographic stress?

Data were obtained from low-income, single-parent mothers for a test of the "life course" hypothesis that chronic stress mediates the relationship between teenage motherhood and both physical abuse and neglect of children. Large numbers of live births, a life history of unemployment, and low educational achievement were the measured stressors. Findings support the hypothesis, showing the number of live births as the most important mediator for both types of maltreatment.