Keri Weed - Teen Pregnancy and Parenting: Rethinking the Myths and Misperceptions

Whether glamorized or stigmatized, teenage parenthood is all too often used to stand for a host of social problems, and empirical research results ignored. Identifying core controversies surrounding teen pregnancy and parenting, this book resolves misperceptions using findings from large-scale, longitudinal, and qualitative research studies from the US and other Western countries.

Summarizing the evidence and integrating it with a systems perspective, the authors explore ten prevalent myths about teenage parents, including:

Teen Pregnancy and Parenting ends by highlighting the prevention and intervention implications for families, practitioners, and policy-makers. It will be of interest to academics and advanced students from a range of disciplines and professions including psychology, public policy, nursing, social work, and sociology.

Keri Weed is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina Aiken, USA.

Jody S. Nicholson is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Florida, USA.

Jaelyn R. Farris is Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State Harrisburg, USA.

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Teen Pregnancy and Parenting

Rethinking the myths and misperceptions

Keri Weed, Jody S. Nicholson and Jaelyn R. Farris

First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

2015 Keri Weed, Jody S. Nicholson and Jaelyn R. Farris

The right of Keri Weed, Jody S. Nicholson and Jaelyn R. Farris to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Weed, Keri, author.

Teen pregnancy and parenting: rethinking the myths and misperceptions / Keri Weed, Jody S. Nicholson, Jaelyn R. Farris.

p. ; cm. (Routledge advances in health and social policy)

I. Nicholson, Jody S., author. II. Farris, Jaelyn Renee.,
author. III. Title. IV. Series: Routledge advances in health and social policy.

[DNLM: 1. Pregnancy in Adolescence. 2. Parenting. 3. Social Perception. 4. Socioeconomic Factors. WA 310.1]

RG556.5

618.200835dc23

2014001962

ISBN: 978-0-415-64432-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-07960-7 (ebk)

Typeset in Goudy
by Out of House Publishing

Dedication

In memory of our friend and colleague Deb Keogh, whose efforts and passion for the Notre Dame Adolescent Parenting Project made this book possible, and to John Borkowski and Tom Whitman, with our utmost gratitude for their leadership and wisdom, whose quest for the truth inspired us to write this book.

Our contributions to this book represent nearly 50 years of collective experience studying teen mothers and their children across a variety of basic and applied longitudinal studies. All three of us cut our teeth on research with teen moms with the Notre Dame Adolescent Parenting Project (NDAPP) under the guidance of Drs. John G. Borkowski and Thomas L. Whitman. The NDAPP began in the mid-1980s and followed a sample of over 100 teen mothers and their children for more than 20 years. We have already published two books describing the results of this study; Interwoven Lives summarized findings through the first five years of the childrens lives (Whitman, Borkowski, Keogh, and Weed, 2001) and Risk and Resilience provided an overview of the lives of the mothers and their children across 14 years (Borkowski, Farris, Whitman, Carothers, Weed, and Keogh, 2007).

Like many academics, we see the indelible impression our mentors have left in how we approach our research. We were trained to incorporate all aspects of good science while also recognizing the individual differences of the mothers and children as valuable human beings, and not just participants. Our mentors personal and professional dedication to social justice and big picture thinking continues on in our careers, yet we also bring unique personal strengths and (sometimes contrasting) perspectives. Keri brings the most experience to the group, having been a part of the NDAPP since the beginning and a significant contributor to both previous books from the study. With this experience, she has constructed a deep belief in the importance of viewing teen parenting through a systems perspective that considers all the different influences that must be taken into account when considering human development. Jaelyns previous background as a clinician has informed her passion about being sure information is relevant and helpful to those directly working with teen mothers and their families. Jody, who was Johns final graduate student, has recently started her independent research career, gravitating towards research relevant to public health and how research is (and is not) integrated into public policy. We see our similar training, and different perspectives, as major strengths of this book that will contribute to the existing literature on teen pregnancy and parenting.