Pregnancy and Childbearing Among Young Adults Who Experienced Foster Care

Abstract

This study explores rates of early pregnancy and parenthood among a sample of young adults ( N = 215), ages 18-22, with a history of foster care. The study also compares the educational attainment, financial resources, and homelessness experiences of young adults who became parents to those who did not. By age 21, 49% of the young women became pregnant, and 33% of young men reported getting someone pregnant. Over a quarter of participants experienced parenthood, which was associated with lower educational attainment, less employment, not having a checking or savings account, and a history of homelessness. Gender moderated the association between parenthood and employment such that males who were parents were more likely than female parents to be employed. Given that these young adults were at risk of early pregnancy and parenthood regardless of emancipation status and across several racial/ethnic groups, the results suggest a need for early pregnancy prevention efforts for all youth with child welfare involvement as well as improving resources and support for those who become young parents.

The functional patterns of adolescent mothers leaving foster care: Results from a cluster analysis

“…Birth rates among youths in foster care have been the subject of several recent investigations (Combs, Begun, Rinehart, & Taussig, ; Font, Cancian & Berger, ; King, ; Shpiegel & Cascardi, ). Although specific estimates have varied across samples, most existing studies indicate that females with foster care backgrounds exhibit birth rates two to three times higher than their counterparts in the general population (Eastman, Palmer, & Ahn, ; Font et al, ; Svoboda, Shaw, Barth, & Bright, ).…”

“…Numerous studies have shown that adolescent childbirth is linked to adverse outcomes for mothers, including educational underachievement, employment difficulties, and decreased economic self‐sufficiency (e.g., Barnet, Liu, & DeVoe, ; Boden, Fergusson, and Horwood, 2008; Furstenberg, ). Yet few studies have explored the outcomes of adolescent mothers with current or past foster care involvement (Eastman & Putnam‐Hornstein, ; Eastman, Schelbe, & McCroskey, ; Font et al, ; Combs et al, ; Shpiegel & Cascardi, ; Schelbe & Geiger, ). The limited research on this topic has produced inconsistent findings, with some studies describing heightened challenges among young women who have given birth (e.g., Combs et al, ; Shpiegel & Cascardi, ) whereas others depicting motherhood as more nuanced, including both challenges and a renewed sense of purpose and motivation (e.g., Pryce & Samuels, ; Schelbe & Geiger, ).…”

“…Research on transition‐age foster youth indicates that they are vulnerable to a myriad of unfavourable outcomes, including educational and vocational problems, homelessness, substance abuse, and criminal justice involvement (Courtney et al, 2018; Narendorf & McMillen, ; Naccarato, Brophy, & Courtney, ; Stott & Gustavsson, ). These difficulties may be especially pronounced among those youth who parent children, given the confluence of negative outcomes associated with both early parenthood and “aging‐out” of foster care (Shpiegel & Cascardi, ; Combs et al, ). The pressures of caring for young children, coupled with a lack of adequate skills, resources, and supports, are among the challenges faced by young mothers as they approach and negotiate the transition to independent adulthood (Aparicio, Pecukonis, & O'Naele, ; Shpiegel & Cascardi, ).…”

“…According to recent studies, adolescent mothers leaving foster care often struggle to finish school, obtain employment, and establish economic self‐sufficiency (Chase, Maxwell, Knight, & Aggleton, ; Combs et al, ; Haight, Finet, Bamba, & Helton, ; Shpiegel & Cascardi, ). For instance, in a study by Combs and colleagues (), foster youth ages 18 to 22 with biological children were less likely to obtain a high school diploma and to be employed, less likely to have a checking or savings account, and more likely to experience homelessness as compared with counterparts without children. A study by Shpiegel and Cascardi () reported similar findings in a national sample of foster youth, including lower educational and vocational attainment, and higher rates of homelessness, incarceration, and receipt of public assistance among females who had children.…”

“…To date, most studies on adolescent mothers in foster care have either been qualitative in nature or have used variable‐centred approaches to examine how childbirth may relate to certain outcomes, such as education or employment (Combs et al, ; Pryce & Samuels, ; Schelbe & Geiger, ; Shpiegel & Cascardi, ). Although variable‐centred approaches are useful for identifying the correlates of individual outcomes, they do not capture the multidimensional nature of youths' adaptation (Keller, Cusick, & Courtney, ; Yates & Grey, ).…”