The Long-term Evolution of the Family Structure of Teenage and Older Mothers

Research into the evolution of the, family structure is important in understanding the consequences of teenage motherhood. In this longitudinal study of black, urban mothers in Woodlawn, a Chicago community, we compare 15 years of family evolution of teenage and older mothers. Teenage mothers not only frequently begin child rearing as the only adult at home but also are at high risk of becoming the only adult and remaining so as long as 15 years after the child's birth. This tendency towards mother aloneness is associated with less help in child rearing and less participation in voluntary organizations. Article: INTRODUCTION The combinations of adults in the homes of young children provide an important way of classifying types of families (Kellam et al., 1977). Different combinations will hypothetically result in different roles, child rearing, and child outcomes. In this paper we report on the ways in which becoming a mother during one's adolescent years influences family structure over the span of the mother's child-rearing cycle. We first trace the evolution of the teenage and older mother's family structure from the birth of her child to 16 years later. We next explore how family structure as defined by the adults at home is related to the amount of help in child rearing. We then examine the effects of teenage motherhood and family structure on the woman's social ties * The authors wish to acknowledge the crucial contributions of the Woodlawn community, its families and children, and the board members who over the last 18 years have provided support and guidance for this research and service enterprise. Rose Bates, a member of the Community Advisory Committee, has been particularly important to this work in the last few years. The teachers and principals of the Chicago public schools and the Chicago Archdiocesan schools were essential contributors. The school district superintendents, Mr. Byron Minor, Mr. Jack Mitchell, and Dr. Donald Blythe, were extremely helpful. Dr. Curtis Melnick, formerly Associate Superintendent, and Mr. George Flores of the Chicago Board of Education were especially important. Our thanks to Jeannette Branch, formerly Director of the Southside Youth Program, who has been involved in all aspects of the research. We are grateful to Jennifer Giancarlo for executing the diagrams. Support in recent years for analyses of the follow-up data has been given by Office of Human Development Services Grant Number 90CW643 and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Contract Number N01-