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Teenage mothers' health across different life stages

Author

Listed:
  • Guyonne Kalb

    (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne | Life Course Centre | Institute of Labor Economics (IZA))

  • Ha Vu

    (Deakin Business School, Deakin University)

Abstract

Many women who give birth during their teenage years face lifetime disadvantages in health, social and economic domains. To develop effective policies to support these teenage mothers, it is important to understand how the disadvantage evolves over time to target the timing of any interventions. This paper focuses on health outcomes and seeks to determine the role of teenage motherhood and the likely channels through which teenage motherhood may contribute to health disparities across different life stages between teenage mothers and other women. Using household panel survey data and fixed-effects regressions that control for the effects of prior disadvantage, we show that teenage motherhood is negatively associated with all domains of health and that impacts worsen in later life stages. Potential mediators, including health behaviours, family, social support, education and economic factors are investigated and these partly explain mental health outcomes, reducing the direct impact of teenage motherhood, but not physical health. The strongest pathways are through social support, family and economic outcomes. Our results suggest boosting social support and addressing economic disadvantage may improve mental health outcomes for teenage mothers.

Suggested Citation

  • Guyonne Kalb & Ha Vu, 2021. "Teenage mothers' health across different life stages," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2021n01, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2021n01
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sung‐Hee Jeon & Guyonne Kalb & Ha Vu, 2011. "The Dynamics of Welfare Participation among Women Who Experienced Teenage Motherhood in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 87(277), pages 235-251, June.
    2. Jason Fletcher, 2012. "The effects of teenage childbearing on the short- and long-term health behaviors of mothers," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(1), pages 201-218, January.
    3. Pinar Gunes & Magda Tsaneva, 2016. "The Effects of Early Pregnancy on Education, Physical Health and Mental Distress: Evidence from Mexico," Working Papers 2016-14, University of Alberta, Department of Economics.
    4. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    5. Aitken, Zoe & Hewitt, Belinda & Keogh, Louise & LaMontagne, Anthony D. & Bentley, Rebecca & Kavanagh, Anne M., 2016. "Young maternal age at first birth and mental health later in life: Does the association vary by birth cohort?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 9-17.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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