Accounting for the Educational Shortfalls of Mothers

Women who become mothers at an early age complete fewer years of education than women who delay childbearing. Using data from the US National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 on 11336 females the study examines family formation during the first 4 years after high school. 3123 women had become mothers by October 1976. The mothers especially the earlier groups ranked lower than their classmates in ability class rank and socioeconomic status. Married nonparents were close to the single nonparents in ability and class rank but a much smaller proportion of married nonparents than single nonparents were enrolled in academic programs indicating that most did not plan to go to college. The studys 2 main findings are that: 1) the effects of late-teenage parenthood on young married womens current educational status and long term educational aspirations are less severe than one might infer from comparisons of observed (unadjusted) outcomes for parents and nonparents and 2) parenthood and marriage have separate identifiable effects. The marriage effects are strong for this population of women. Preexisting differences between parents and nonparents would have led to very different educational outcomes in these 2 groups even without parenthood. Many of the effects that might be attributed to early parenthood also show up as effects of early marriage alone. This is not to say that early parenthood has no effects; the mothers do lag behind other married women in both current and expected education. The results show considerable self-selection into early marriage and early parenthood. One problem with the study is that data are limited to women who managed to get to their senior year in high school.