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Jennifer S. Manlove, Elizabeth Terry-Humen, Lisa A. Mincieli, and Kristin A. Moore examine outcomes for children of teen parents and compare these outcomes with those for children born to older mothers. As in the previous edition of Kids Having Kids, the authors find that children of teenage mothers fare poorly compared with other children. However, much of the difference is explained by factors other than adolescent childbearing. Compared with children whose mothers begin parenting at age 20 to 21, children of teen mothers are much more likely to be low birth weight, have lower health assessment scores, have lower cognitive attainment and proficiency scores at kindergarten entry, and exhibit more behavior problems. Adolescent children have significantly lower academic achievement as measured by performance on standardized tests, and they are at higher risk of not completing high school. Generally, these differences are most pronounced for the children born to women who have their first child before age 18.

For example, compared with children whose mothers begin parenting at age 20 to 21, children of teen mothers have lower standardized test scores at kindergarten entry, and adolescent daughters of teen mothers are less likely to graduate from high school, net of controls. In addition, children of teen mothers exhibit more behavior problems, and children of the youngest teen mothers are more likely to be low birth weight. Adolescent children of teen mothers are also more likely to be married or cohabiting at a young age and are more likely to have a teen birth themselves.

These adverse effects for children are most pronounced for those outcomes measured at kindergarten. However, unlike chapter 5 in the previous edition of Kids Having Kids, which found more pronounced differences for the children born to women who have their first child before age 18, this chapter finds similarly poor outcomes among children of younger and older teen mothers. The authors suggest that this similarity may result, in part, from the different living situations of younger and older teen mothers. These findings suggest that it will take more than convincing teen mothers to delay childbearing for a few years to eliminate the myriad disadvantages their children face relative to children whose mothers choose to begin parenting in their 20s or later.

This collection of papers on early adolescent sexual behavior includes seven papers in two parts. Part 1, "Papers from Nationally Representative Data Sets," includes (1) "Dating and Sexual Experiences among Middle School Youth: Analyses of the NLSY97" (Elizabeth Terry-Humen and Jennifer Manlove); "(2) "Dating Behavior and Sexual Activity of Young Adolescents: Analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health" (Hannah Bruckner and Peter Bearman); and (3) "Sexual Activity among Girls Under Age 15: Findings from the National Survey of Family Growth" (Christine M. Flanigan). Part 2, "Papers from Small Area Data Sets," includes (4) "The Development of Sex-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceived Norms, and Behaviors in a Longitudinal Cohort of Middle School Children" (Cynthia A. Gomez, Karin K. Coyle, Steve Gregorich, Barbara VanOss Marin, and Douglas B. Kirby); (5) "Youth with Older Boyfriends and Girlfriends: Associations with Sexual Risk" (Barbara VanOss Marin, Douglas B. Kirby, Esther S. Hudes, Cynthia A. Gomez, and Karin K. Coyle); (6) "Community Concerns and Communication among Young Teens and Their Parents: Data from California Communities" (Susan Philliber); and (7) "Sexual Behavior among Young Teens in Disadvantaged Areas of Seven Cities" (Susan Philliber and Michael Carrera). The data come from surveying 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds as one group; surveying a group of 12-year-olds and then following them over time as they turned 13 and 14; and surveying older teens about their experiences when age 14 and younger. Among the findings of the studies: nearly one in five adolescents has had sex before his or her 15th birthday; contraceptive use among young adolescents is relatively low; and sexually experienced youth age 14 and younger are much more likely to smoke, use drugs and alcohol, and participate in delinquent activities than youth who have not had sex. (Papers contain references.)