Teen fathers join military
Teen fathers join military
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Social researchers have long studied the effects being a mother has on teenage girls, but a new Yale study has revealed that there are significant consequences for teenage fathers as well.
The study, by Jason Fletcher, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Public Health, has found that young men who become fathers during their teenage years are less likely to graduate from high school and more likely to join the military or seek full-time employment. Published online March 24 in the journal Economic Inquiry, the study also found that teens who practice birth control face smaller consequences than those who do not.
“The effects are consistent with a story that suggests teenage fatherhood makes boys ‘grow up’ quickly, which means getting married, finishing school (maybe with just a GED) and getting a job,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher’s study focused on young men whose partners became pregnant before they were 18 years and 9 months old.
Though this is not the first paper to examine the consequences of teen fatherhood, Fletcher said that it was difficult to find data to support his hypotheses that parenthood alters a teenage man’s career prospects.
Vincent DiCaro, vice president of public affairs at the National Fatherhood Initiative, said that teen fatherhood has not yet been thoroughly researched, especially in comparison to the literature that exists on teenage motherhood.
Patricia Paluzzi, president and CEO of the Healthy Teen Network, said the lack of research on teen fathers may be a result of women’s historical association with parenthood.
Though she had not heard of the Yale study, Paluzzi said she felt that its results are consistent with what has been published.
“We know there is a higher risk of dropout from teenage dads compared to their peers,” she said. “I haven’t heard of increased employment or involvement in armed forces, but that makes sense.”
DiCaro added that Western culture largely constructs fatherhood in economic terms.
“If there is one thing that motivates men to earn money, it is having a child,” Dicaro said.
Though the results were not entirely unexpected, the findings of the study suggest that there is a need to target young fathers as well as boys at risk of becoming fathers in order to help them increase their chances of finishing high school, Fletcher said.
DiCaro said he believes that if teen boys fully understood what children need from a father, they would realize that they currently are not in a position to provide these needs, and that this research will help them understand their own consequences.
“The more information there is about how difficult it is to be a teen father, the more it will serve to deter young men,” DiCaro said.
Fletcher said he believes his research can be extended further by following the fathers in the study as they age to examine whether the employment effects are short-term.
The research was conducted in a joint project with faculty at Wisconsin for three years. The data used in this study was collected by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Comments
harbinger 1 year, 1 month ago
At least these teen fathers are trying to be responsible, and not just add their offspring to the masses the taxpayer supports now.
PhysicsAlum 1 year, 1 month ago
Yes, harbinger, how delightful that teen fathers apparently feel that their only option is to go get shot at in Afghanistan.
harbinger 1 year, 1 month ago
Perhaps once you've patted your own back raw at your witty comment, you can suggest an alternative that doesn't saddle the taxpayer with the costs for raising these children? Military service does wonders on teaching responsibility and discipline. It's says a lot for these young men that they're willing to work or join the military. Not everyone has the luck you did to be annointed with a physics degree and wallow in your moral superiority.
corey 1 year, 1 month ago
Start teaching safe sex and not let the conservative Christians tell everyone that abstinence only works, because we all know it does not.
PhysicsAlum 1 year, 1 month ago
Yes, what corey said. Provide the education and contraceptives to NOT MAKE THEM TEEN DADS IN THE FIRST PLACE. A conclusion which nearly every other modern Western nation except the US has had.
Also, responsible or not, fathers aren't particularly good fathers when they're A) Suffering from PTSD, or B) Dead.
Nice ad hominem, btw.
PhysicsAlum 1 year, 1 month ago
Also, wait, given the massive size of our military defense budget, how can we say that those fathers are not getting jobs at the taxpayers' expense? Taxpayers pay for soldiers too.
harbinger 1 year, 1 month ago
True, we do pay for the military budget. But at least we're getting something in return and they're showing they are willing to work to support the child they are responsible for. That I applaud.
hybridjohn 8 months, 1 week ago
very interesting article post on military education. My son is also in a military school ans he is really liking to study there. I also had inquired about the military school and impressed with their educational programs. I want to suggest the all parents to choose military school programs for educating their childern.
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