Abstract: This book presents the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy within the National Research Council. The panel examined research and existing programs which address the areas of adolescent sexuality, pregnancy, and childbearing with the intent of making recommendations for policy making, program design, program evaluation, and research. The panel's report is presented in chapters addressing the following topics: trends in adolescent sexuality and fertility, society and changing roles of adolescents, determinants of sexual behavior, effects of adolescent childbearing, interventions, and priorities for data collection, research, policies, and programs. An accompanying volume contains the working papers on which the report was based. The working papers address three broad areas, which are: 1) influences on early sexual and fertility behavior, 2) consequences of early sexual and fertility behavior, and 3) programs and policies related to teen pregnancy and sexuality.

Although Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments affirmed the right of pregnant and parenting students to remain in school, few districts have established programs that help or encourage them to do so. This report examines 12 such programs, assesses the education and support they offer, and suggests guidelines for setting up special programs. Programs fall into two categories: "inclusive curriculum" programs offer pregnant students regular education plus services at separate sites; and "non-inclusive" programs offer them services that supplement the regular school program and continue after pregnancy. Considering the strengths and weaknesses of both models, the report concludes that while non-inclusive programs are generally better suited to the long-term needs of adolescent mothers, no single program model is appropriate for all communities or teenage mothers. Program choice should reflect community attitudes, dispersal of students, and number of pregnancies. Federal and state agencies can improve local education agency response by providing support and technical assistance.

This important work examines in detail and depth how, as a consequence of changing technologies, diet, patterns of reproduction, and work, relations between children and parents have altered. The editors and contributors hold that biosocial science is particularly relevant to research on human family systems and parenting behavior. The family is the universal social institution in which the care of children is based and the turf where cultural tradition, beliefs, and values are transmitted to the young as they fulfill their biological potential for growth, development and reproduction. The biosocial perspective takes into account the biological substratum and the social environment as critical co-determinants of behavior and pinpoints areas in which contemporary human parental behavior exhibits continuities with and departures from, patterns evident throughout history. This work crosses disciplinary lines without ignoring their relevance to the broader themes of the book. School age pregnancy and parenthood is a powerful anchor for the dissection of large scale issues. The contributors deal in turn with ethnic and historical experience, examine normative and ethical issues, and cast new light on methodological concerns. What the editors call culturally-defined responses to basic needs helps explain both dramatic improvements in this area, and how they expand the challenge of teen reproduction. Contributors emphasize new demands for training and education to research this growing phenomenon. The book contributes to humane concerns as well as the scientific imagination. Jane B. Lancaster is professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico. She serves as editor of a major journal in the field, Human Nature: An Interdisciplinary Biosocial Perspective. She also edited two related volumes: Child Abuse and Neglect (1987), Parenting across Life Span (1987). Beatrix A. Hamburg is at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, in the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She is recipient of the Gallagher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Adolescent Medicine, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration, and edits Behavioral and Psychosocial Issues in Diabetes.

The debate of teenage pregnancy and parenthood continues to be a topical media and political issue, and a contested policy area. Covering the controversial issues, this book contributes to the debate, filling the gap in the current market. The strong chapter selection looks at areas such as: education social policy and welfare reforms in the UK and US issues for young fathers child sex abuse girls with emotional and behavioural difficulties. This is invaluable reading for those working on government strategies to reduce teen pregnancies and those working in sex education and youth care.

This book was written to help educators to deal more effectively with pregnant and parenting students by working with both the students and their kinship networks to assure the well-being of teenage parents and their infants and by developing ideas, policies, and procedures to reduce the incidence of unwanted student pregnancies. The six chapters in Part One of the book focus on the student and the school. Chapter 1 examines the scope of the teenage pregnancy problem and looks at its long-term consequences. Chapter 2 explores the expanding role of the school and recommends helpful school responses to pregnant and parenting adolescents. Chapter 3 focuses on how educators can help, offering specific suggestions for school boards, superintendents, principals, teachers, counselors, and other school employees. Chapter 4 looks at classroom interactions and discusses advice-giving, supportiveness, and communication. Chapter 5 stresses the importance of parental involvement and describes ways to get parents involved. Chapter 6 presents a comprehensive approach to prevention. The five chapters in Part Two, "The Student, the School and Society," deal with: (1) determinants of teenage pregnancy; (2) teenage pregnancy and the larger social issues; (3) pregnant and parenting adolescents and their families; (4) pregnant teenagers' decision making; and (5) organizational responses to teenage pregnancy. An appendix contains a sample of networking services for pregnant adolescents, a policy statement on school age parents, and excerpts from various published sources on the problem. (NB)

A guide for teachers and administrators that provides information on how to develop, coordinate, and teach in an effective program for pregnant and parenting teenagers. Includes a listing of resources for teen parents, and professionals.

The writings in this anthology have been selected to introduce readers to the broadest possible spectrum of viewpoints on teen pregnancy and parenting. A question-and-response format prompts readers to examine complex issues from multiple angles. Debated topics include whether teenage pregnancy is a problem, whether it causes negative consequences for all involved, whether it helps struggling teens to succeed, the role of sexual abuse, and the efficacy of sex education programs.