Social support among Icelandic teenage mothers vs. Icelandic teenage non-mothers: Exploring academic achievements and psychological well-being.

Previous studies have shown that social support and education can increase psychological well-being among teenage mothers. The main goal of the present study was to explore the aspects of family and peer support among teenage mothers vs. teenage non-mothers and how it is related to their psychological well-being and academic achievements. Available data was obtained from the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis. Participants in the study were all teenage girls that were enrolled in high school, 16–19 years of age. A sample of 4.772 teenage girls was analyzed. Teenage mothers were 71 and non-teenage mothers were 4.694. Results indicated that on average teenage mothers had lower grades than teenage non-mothers but they did not differ in their average score on symptoms of depressed mood. Family and peer support predicted better academic achievements and depressed mood among both groups, indicating that those who received adequate social support tended to do better in school and show less symptoms of depressed mood. Overall, the findings suggested that family and peer support seems to be a valuable source for teenage mothers. Hopefully, the research findings will advance the knowledge of teenage mothers vs. teenage non-mothers and provide a better understanding of the underlying factors that are valuable for psychological health and well-being of teenage mothers.Fyrri rannsóknir hafa sýnt að félagslegur stuðningur og menntun getur aukið andlega heilsu ungra mæðra. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að skoða áhrif félagslegs stuðnings frá fjölskyldu og vinum á andlega líðan og námsárangur ungra mæðra í samanburði við stúlkur sem ekki eru ungar mæður. Fyrirliggjandi gögn fengust hjá Rannsóknum og Greiningu. Þátttakendur í rannsókninni voru táningsstúlkur sem voru í framhaldsskóla, 16 til 19 ára gamlar. Alls tóku 4.772 táningsstelpur þátt í rannsókninni, ungar mæður voru 71 og stúlkur sem ekki voru mæður voru 4.694. Niðurstöður gáfu til kynna að ungar mæður voru líklegri til að sýna verri námsárangur en stúlkur sem áttu ekki börn en ekki reyndist marktækur munur á hópunum á einkennum þundlyndis. Stuðningur frá fjölskyldu og vinum voru sterkir forspársþættir fyrir betri námsárangur og minni einkenni þunglyndis bæði meðal ungra mæðra og annarra stúlkna sem ekki áttu börn. Niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar gefa til kynna að stuðningur frá fjölskyldu og/eða vinum eru mikilvægir þættir til að efla námsárangur og vellíðan fyrir ungar mæður í framhaldsskólum á Íslandi