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Author: Fulco, Celia J.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Fulco, Celia J.
Time-Varying Outcomes Associated with Maternal Age at First Birth
M.S. Thesis, Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, 2018
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Educational Attainment; Home Environment; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Mothers; Poverty; Socioeconomic Status (SES)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Those who become mothers early in life face poorer outcomes related to social, economic, educational, and health factors for both mother and child. The literature often uses teenage and "early" parenting interchangeably as predictors of associated outcomes. However, changing the operational definition of early motherhood to include those who are 19 and under, 22 and under, or 25 and under does not significantly alter results that show younger mothers having worse economic outcomes, comparatively (Gibb, Fergusson, Horwood, & Boden, 2014). In response to the tendency of using age at first birth as a categorical predictor of outcomes, the time-varying relationship between maternal age at first birth and socioeconomic and parenting outcomes was examined using longitudinal data.

A time-varying effect model was employed to display average level of education, home/parenting quality scores, and the odds of poverty as a function of maternal age at first birth, controlling for race/ethnicity and having the father in the child's household. We used data from a national longitudinal study of mothers who participated in the Child and Young Adult cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Peak scores for all outcomes were observed around maternal age of 30 for all three initial models. Parenting and home quality gradually improved until late 20's when scores appeared to level out throughout the 30's. Highest grade completed increased until just after age 30 then dipped again around age 40. The odds of poverty decreased until about age 30 then leveled out. Controlling for father's presence in the household and race/ethnicity shifted all three selected effects.

Overall, earlier maternal age at first birth was associated with incrementally decreasing parenting and home quality, lower educational attainment, and greater likelihood of poverty status. The results highlight the problematic nature of utilizing categorical (e.g., teenage vs. non-teenage) age groups to predict maternal and child outcomes. In fact, results of this study suggest that optimal socioeconomic and parenting outcomes level out around age 30 for this nationally representative sample. Current trends in psychological, developmental, and economic research should consider curvilinear patterns of outcomes related to maternal age at first birth rather than relying on categorical comparisons of age groups.

Bibliography Citation
Fulco, Celia J. Time-Varying Outcomes Associated with Maternal Age at First Birth. M.S. Thesis, Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, 2018.
2. Fulco, Celia J.
Henry, Kimberly L.
Rickard, Kathryn M.
Yuma, Paula J.
Time-Varying Outcomes Associated With Maternal Age at First Birth
Journal of Child and Family Studies published online (11 October 2019): DOI: 10.1007/s10826-019-01616-0.
Also: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-019-01616-0
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Educational Attainment; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Mothers, Income; Parenting Skills/Styles

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Objectives: The operational definition of early motherhood remains equivocal across the literature. In response to the tendency of using age at first birth as a categorical predictor in previous research, the time-varying relationship between maternal age at first birth and socioeconomic and parenting/home outcomes was examined using longitudinal data.

Methods: Time-varying effect models were employed to examine educational attainment, home/parenting quality scores, and annual income as a function of age at first birth, controlling for race/ethnicity and presence of the father in the household during child ages 6–9.

Results: Peak scores for outcomes were observed around maternal age 30 in all three models. Parenting/home quality improved with maternal age at first birth until mothers reached the late 20’s, when scores appeared to level out. Highest grade completed increased until just after age 30. Total annual income increased considerably until about age 30 then leveled out, although the plateau may be due to reduced sample size at the most advanced maternal ages. Father presence in the household and race/ethnicity were associated with all three outcomes.

Bibliography Citation
Fulco, Celia J., Kimberly L. Henry, Kathryn M. Rickard and Paula J. Yuma. "Time-Varying Outcomes Associated With Maternal Age at First Birth." Journal of Child and Family Studies published online (11 October 2019): DOI: 10.1007/s10826-019-01616-0.