ABSTRACT
In1979, the median annual income for the two-adult family with children was about three times as great as that for families headed by single women with children. Teenage pregnancy was sufficiently dominant as a correlate of maltreatment to warrant additional consideration of that phenomenon. Twenty-two percent of all women who gave birth in 1985 were unmarried; this included 51 percent of 18 and 19 year olds and 72 percent of women under the age of 18. The economic disadvantage of adolescent motherhood is a lasting one and virtually assures that both mother and child will depend upon public assistance for their livelihood. These women seldom pursue their education even after the baby has been born and are much less likely ever to graduate from high school than women similar to them in personal attributes including previous record of academic achieveme.
