Very young adolescent mothers and delay of a second pregnancy

Since 1994, the Illinois Subsequent Pregnancy Program (ISPP) has helped more than 3000 first-time adolescent mothers in Illinois to successfully delay a second pregnancy. Intensive home visiting coupled with group training and support has yielded consistent outcomes across diverse populations of adolescents. Only 2-4% of the young mothers (ages 14-18) participating in ISPP have a second pregnancy, and 75-80% remain in and/or graduate from school each year. Staff members have consistently expressed concern about the elevated level of need among program participants age 14 years and younger, who comprise about 8% of those served. The present analysis is an examination of the characteristics and program experience of these very young mothers. At intake, these young participants are significantly more likely than their older peers to live in parental households (84% vs. 74%, p<0.01) and to be in school (98% vs. 81%, p<0.01), but they are not significantly different on other major indicators of risk, including financial and social support, family history of teen parenting, and contraceptive history. Moreover, they demonstrate similar program outcomes, including gains in knowledge, remaining in school, and consistent use of contraception. However, the very young mothers utilize substantially more services than those who are 15 or older, including individual contacts (36 vs. 27 per year, p<0.05) and attendance at group meetings (16 vs. 12 per year, p<0.05). Multivariate analysis is used to examine the relationship between risk indicators, use of services, and outcomes among these very young mothers.