Consequences of young mothers' marital histories for children's cognitive development

The research attention paid to adolescent parents and their children stems, in part, from a concern over potentially missed opportunities and hence curtailed achievement for young parents and a worry that this will increase the odds of poor developmental outcomes for children. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this article focuses on marital histories of young mothers and whether the family structure into which children of young mothers are born and the stability of that arrangement during the child's life affect his or her academic abilities during early school years. is the marital bond important for children? Do changes in a mother's marital status influence child development? And most importantly, if so, what is the process through which marital history affects child cognitive development? Results suggest children of young mothers are affected by marital histories, although children born and raised within continuously married families do not always show significantly better academic outcomes. Nonmarital childbearing is negatively associated with cognitive performance but affects children primarily through human economic, and social resources.