A case control study of a deprivation triangle: teenage motherhood, poor educational achievement and unemployment.

Teenage motherhood has been linked with poor health, poor educational attainment, poor employment prospects and socio-economic deprivation. Much of the evidence has come from large surveys and the nature of these inter-relationships remains unclear. A case-control study was designed to compare the educational and employment experiences of teenage mothers with those of an age matched sample of peers from a similar social background and to test the feasibility of carrying out this type of research within primary care. Participants were identified from records in 36 GP practices in the Greater Belfast area. First time teenage mothers with one child aged 9-15 months at the time of interview were selected. Teenage mothers were matched with a control group of nulliparous teenagers in respect of age and postcode and registered with the same practice. Questionnaires were administered in their home or at their health centre. Data were analysed using SPSS for Windows Version 6. Teenage mothers were less likely than controls to have gained passes in school leaving examinations. None of the mothers was in full time education compared with 35% of the controls. Excluding those in education or training, more of the control group were employed at the time of study (82% v 11%). It is concluded that teenage mothers with one child report poorer educational attainment and employment status than their nulliparous peers from a similar social background with similar educational opportunities. Attention must be paid to these findings when planning policy to help teenage mothers and avoid perpetuation of a cycle of socio-economic deprivation.