Early motherhood and long-term economic outcomes: findings from a 30-year longitudinal study
Open accessAbstract
This study examined linkages between early motherhood (before age 20) and long‐term economic disadvantage, using data from a birth cohort of 509NewZealand‐born women followed to age 30. Associations between early motherhood and economic outcomes were examined using linear and logistic regression models and were adjusted for a range of prepregnancy factors. The findings suggested that early motherhood was associated with several indicators of economic disadvantage at age 30, including working fewer hours, welfare dependence, lower personal incomes, and exposure to economic hardship. These associations remained statistically significant even after extensive adjustment for confounding factors. These findings suggest that having a child before age 20 leads to long‐term economic disadvantage that persists for at least a decade.
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There is clear consensus that very early childbearing, before age 15, has detrimental effects on the health, socioeconomic, educational and social outcomes of both mothers and infants.
“there is clear consensus that very early childbearing, before age 15, has detrimental effects on the health, socioeconomic, educational and social outcomes of both mothers and infants”
From Becoming a sexual being: The “elephant in the room” of adolescent brain development (2017) · cites this paper as Gibb et al., 2014
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Becoming a sexual being: The “elephant in the room” of adolescent brain development
Suleiman, A. B., Galván, A., Harden, K. P., & Dahl, R. E. (2017) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2016.09.004 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
- Authors
- Gibb, S. J., Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Boden, J. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Otago (NZ)
- Corresponding author
- Fergusson, David M.
- Venue
- Journal of Research on Adolescence
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2014-03-21
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 163-172
- ISSN
- 1050-8392 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7795
- OpenAlex
- W1970021053
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 10.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Research on Adolescence (publishedVersion)
- Otago University Research Archive (University of Otago) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Health Research Council of New Zealand
- National Child Health Research Foundation
- Canterbury Medical Research Foundation
- New Zealand Lottery Grants Board
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
- Keywords
- early motherhood, adolescent pregnancy, economic disadvantage, welfare dependency, working hours, personal income, economic hardship, young women, birth cohort
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