Teen Moms: Research Supporting Zaideh's House

Here are the results of the market research I had to do for my business plan for Zaideh's House. I have reviewed some important research related to teen childbearing. The following facts are compiled from an article called, “Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing in California,” published by the California Research Bureau in June 2003. These facts reinforce the need for our services, as well as important areas our program should focus on.

According to this research “An estimated 50% to 60% of parenting teens have been abused, a figure twice the national rate for never-pregnant teens.”

1 in 4 of women who have a child in their teens will have a second child within 2 years.

70% of childbearing teens drop out of high school, and only 30% complete high school by age 30.

More than a quarter of teen mothers live in poverty while in their twenties and early thirties, compared to only 7% of women who postpone childbearing until after age 21.

Approximately three-quarters of unmarried teen mothers-half of all teen mothers begin receiving welfare within five years of having their first child, and tend to stay on welfare for more than five of the ten years following the birth of their child.

Fathers of children born to teen mothers often do not marry the mother, and are not likely to provide financial support. Fathers that do participate in regular contact with their child do however have a profound impact. They serve as caregivers, teachers, role models, disciplinarians, protectors and advocates.

This is especially important because children whose fathers are not involved in their lives are more likely to drop out of school, abuse alcohol or drugs, go to jail, and seek help for emotional problems. For this reason we will have a component of our program dedicated to involvement of the fathers of the children in our home. For mothers who desire to have their involvement we will include them in family therapy sessions, and will facilitate visitation between father and child as outlined by the courts.

Health related consequences to the children of the teen mothers will be addressed by providing access to adequate prenatal medical care, as well as education to our pregnant mothers.

The most important consequence we will be addressing is the likelihood of child abuse to the child born to a teen mother. According to the above mentioned research, “Children of teen parents are more likely to be abused and neglected than children of older mothers.

One study found more than twice as many incidents of abuse and neglect reported to authorities for families headed by a teen mother. Birth order also seems to play a role. Subsequent children of mothers who had their first child as a young teen are significantly more likely to be victims of abuse or neglect than the first child in the family.

Even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, the children of young teens are considerably more likely to be victims of abuse and neglect and to be placed in foster care.” This is disturbing because our teen mothers have the added factor of already having been abused. Those two factors combined are a recipe for perpetuated abuse.

This research only serves to reinforce that there is a definite need for our services. While the information is also pertinent to “Customer Needs,” these facts represent the reason for the need, not the actual need itself. We rely on the research of others to support the need for our services.