Teen Mothers and Their Educational Attainment: Some Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

This study uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to estimate the effects of teenage motherhood on the educational attainment of young women. The results of an OLS regression with interaction terms demonstrate that the effects of teenage motherhood on education depends on the socio-economic background of the mother. Estimations show that young women from economically advantaged backgrounds sacrifice more than one year of education as a result of teenage motherhood while those from disadvantaged backgrounds sacrifice little, if any, education. Statistically significant interactions are found between teenage motherhood and several background characteristics. (J13, J24)