Boys Born to Adolescent Dads Are More Likely to Become Young Fathers
A new study finds that males who are born to adolescent fathers are more likely than males born to older fathers to perpetuate the trend by also becoming fathers while in their adolescence.
Researchers examined whether paternal adolescent fatherhood predicted participant adolescent fatherhood. The sample included 1,496 adolescent males 19 years or younger interviewed annually from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. They found that sons of adolescent fathers were 1.8 times more likely to become adolescent fathers than were sons of older fathers, after other risk factors were accounted for.
The study’s authors said, “The results of this study indicate an intergenerational cycle of adolescent fatherhood above and beyond the influence of having an adolescent mother and other traditional risk factors for adolescent pregnancy. These findings support the need for pregnancy prevention interventions specifically designed for and targeted at young males who may be at high risk for continuing this cycle.”
Source:American Public Health Association[From: “Like Father, Like Son: The Intergenerational Cycle.” Contact: Trace Kershaw, PhD, Yale School of Public Health, trace.kershaw@yale.edu].
