School Readiness among Children of Teen Parents

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

School Readiness among Children of Teen Parents SES - 1061058 SES Stefanie Mollborn, University of Colorado at Boulder Paula Fomby, University of Colorado at Denver Abstract This project examines cognitive development, behavior, and health from birth to the start of the critical period of the transition to school in a vulnerable population -- the children of teenage parents. The main goal of the project is to understand how the disadvantage associated with teenage parenthood is transmitted across generations, and which factors might help mitigate those effects. Our primary research question asks how family-related factors influence the health and cognitive, social, and behavioral development of teen parents' children from infancy to the start of the school transition. We will also address whether policy-based factors help ameliorate the developmental and health disparities experienced by children of teenage parents. More than 1 in 6 American girls is projected to have a teenage birth, and children with current or former teenage mothers account for the majority of all children living in poverty and the majority of all children of high school dropouts. Considerable research has documented that many negative consequences are associated with early childbearing for both parents and children, but research on how young parental age and preexisting social disadvantage translate into negative consequences for children's and parents? health and development is less common. The transition to school is a critical time in the life course when the family and school contexts meet and social inequalities produced in early childhood can be either mitigated or further compounded by the educational system. The study will use new nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study?s Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) to follow children of teenage parents from infancy through the start of kindergarten, providing rich information on their cognition, behavior, and health. This contextually oriented research focuses on families' circumstances during the first five years of life and how they influence children's developmental readiness for school. Analyses will focus on the impact of household resources, health-related risk factors, and repeated ecological changes. Broader Impacts Limited empirical research has been conducted on factors shaping school readiness among children of teenage parents. The study examines how family circumstances in infancy and early childhood affect various health and educational outcomes once children reach school age. Results from this study may lead to policy innovations that could help ameliorate the negative effects of teenage parenthood and social disadvantage before they intensify throughout the school years. The research will be conducted collaboratively with the full participation of graduate and undergraduate student assistants and will inform graduate and undergraduate instruction and training.