School aptitude and achievement in children of adolescent mothers.

The effects of adolescent childbearing and parenting on the academic aptitude and achievement of fourth-grade children were examined by comparing children of mothers in three age groups at the birth of the first child: 15-17 years, 18-19 years, and 20-24 years. The data are from a longitudinal study of a community population of schoolchildren. Outcome measures were tests of cognitive skills at preschool screening, parent and teacher ratings of school performance at grade 3, and tests of aptitude and achievement at grade 4. After controlling for gender, birth order, family structure, and maternal education, results indicated that children of adolescent mothers, whether early or late adolescence, were generally not different from children of mothers in their early 20s with respect to academic ability and performance. Maternal education had a far greater impact on the outcome measures than did maternal age.