Fatherhood in Adolescence

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The challenges of teen pregnancy and motherhood long have been considered in depth, but attention to adolescent fathers has been far less conspicuous. The relative lack of attention given to adolescent fathers by health-care practitioners, social workers, government agencies, and researchers furthers the (sometimes incorrect) idea that the fathers often are absent. Although many adolescent mother-baby programs are available, few include provisions for adolescent fathers. In recent years, efforts have increased to acknowledge teen fathers in clinical practice and in the research forum, but much still needs to be addressed.

Numerous studies have characterized adolescent fathers as being older than the mothers of their children. Several studies have found that fathers of the children of adolescent mothers are an average 2 to 3 years older than the mothers. However, in a large California study of adolescent mothers younger than age 15 years, the age difference was nearly 9 years. The actual number of adolescent fathers is difficult to ascertain because the age of the father is not always on the birth certificates of children born to adolescent mothers.

Several factors are correlated with becoming a father during adolescence, particularly low income and poor academic achievement, which also are predictive of adolescent motherhood. Some …