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Show Study on Mothers Dscoses Interesting Facts A six year studv by University of Pennsylvania sociologist Frank F. Furstenburg Jr., comparing the life adjustment of girls who became mothers at age 17 or younger with that of their classmates who managed to postpone child bearing until later shows that the young mothers were more likely To droD out of school, even though they wanted and tried to finish their education. To suffer unemployment, poverty, and welfare dependency. depen-dency. Though most were eager to work and did so when possible. To have further pregnancies pregnan-cies and births while in their teens. To suffer breakup of the marriages that were contracted, contrac-ted, largely due to economic pressures. For the teenage mother, current services depend on a short term approach, when what is needed are long term medical, educational, vocational voca-tional and social services to help the young mother overcome over-come the disabilities which the unscheduled early birth imposes. im-poses. Among the findings, Furstenburg Furst-enburg says, is the challenge to many "myths". For example exam-ple The vast majority of teenagers that become pregnant preg-nant did so accidently, not because they wanted the pregnancy. No relation was observed between subsequent child bearing and whether or not the young mother was receiving public assistance, challenging the notion that the availability of welfare is an incentive to child bearing among the poor. Though all the young mothers had initiated sex early, nearly 'j of them said it was very important for a woman to wait until marriage to have sex. And 3A of their mothers said it was very wrong or somewhat wrong for a girl to have sexual relations before marriage. Princeton economist T. James Russell also finds that teenaged child bearing is associated with diminished long P1 income, increased poverty and miner, welfare dependence. Studies in both California ' and Michigan reported that most teenagers who come in for professional birth control had been sexually active for a year or more previously. For more information on these studies, call Planned Parenthood at 259-6140. |