Children who grow up in single-parent families are more likely to be poor, have trouble in school, and become teen parents themselves. Additionally, children who are born to a mother who is a teenager, who hasn't finished high school, and who isn't married are nine times more likely to be poor than a child whose mother is even a few years older, is married and has at least finished high school. Thus, strengthening families through both teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) and marriage and relationship education (MRE) programs is an effort to decrease out-of-wedlock childbearing and increase the…
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This report discusses conclusions from a two-day meeting of representatives of local, State, and national agencies that focused on the potential benefits and challenges of interagency collaboration between relationship education and pregnancy prevention practitioners. It summarizes key themes from the meeting and strategic actions related to relationship education and teen pregnancy prevention that were highlighted in the meeting. The recommended actions include: launch pilot projects and projects to test promising practices and assess the effectiveness of blended strategies; include youth…
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Journal Article Objectives. Because of their youth, adolescent parents often lack the interpersonal skills necessary to manage the relationship challenges involved in parenting, leaving them and their children vulnerable to the health risks associated with relational stress and conflict. The primary goal of this study was to test the efficacy of the Young Parenthood Program (YPP), a 10-week counseling program administered during pregnancy and designed to facilitate interpersonal skill development and positive parenting among adolescent parents. Methods. Participants included 105 pregnant adolescents and…
Teenage childbearing is associated with many adverse consequences for teen mothers, their families, and children. Many of the negative consequences for teen mothers are due to the disadvantaged situations in which many of these girls already lived before having a teen birth. While the disadvantaged backgrounds of most teen mothers account for many of the burdens that these young women shoulder, having a baby during adolescence often restricts economic and educational opportunities, and these disadvantages tend to be passed on to the next generation. Children born to teen mothers are often…
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Journal Article The purpose of this study was to examine ethnic and marital status differences in family structure, risk behaviors and service requests among African American and Hispanic adolescent fathers participating in a community-based fatherhood program. Demographic factors, risk behaviors, and service requests were gathered at program entry. The results indicated that each group demonstrated distinct patterns associated with family structure, sexual risk behaviors, substance use, and criminal behavior. In comparison to African American fathers, Hispanic fathers were younger and were more likely to be…
