Children of Adolescent Mothers: Exposure to Negative Life Events and the Role of Social Supports on Their Socioemotional Adjustment

Children born to adolescent mothers have heightened vulnerability for exposure to multiple stressful life events owing to factors associated with teenaged parenthood such as poverty and low levels of maternal education. This study investigated whether early exposure to negative life events such as parental divorce, residential instability, and deaths in the family predicted children’s socioemotional and behavioral functioning at age 10. Hierarchical regression analyses suggested that negative life events—which were reported by 94% of the sample—were associated with less favorable developmental outcomes, with social support serving as a buffer between exposure to these events and children’s anxiety, internalization, externalization, and maladaptive behaviors.