Obstetrical outcomes of teenagers with adult and peer age partners

While headlines report the epidemic of “adolescent sex” and “teenage pregnancy” little is noted about the role of adult age men in over half of teenage pregnancies (Males and Chew, 1996). Recent research on adult male involvement in teenage pregnancy reveals that the age of the adult male is indirectly related to the age of the teenage girl, leaving the youngest of girls partnered with the oldest of men. Vast age differences between adult men and teenage girls may make teenage girls vulnerable to pressure, exploitation, and abuse (Darroch, Landry and Oslak, 1999). For many teenagers, this exploitation follows a lifetime of childhood victimization, including physical and sexual abuse (Boyer and Fine, 1992). In addition to the victimization of the teenager, her infant may also be at risk for abuse and neglect by either parent (Elders and Albert, 1998). The risk of the intergenerational transmission of abuse increases exponentially when abused mothers are partnered with adult age men. It was the purpose of this investigation to compare outcomes of teenage pregnancies (\u3c17 at conception) fathered by adult age men (4+ years older than teenager) to those fathered by peer age boys (\u3c4 years older than teenager). Specifically, the prenatal (sexually transmitted infections, prenatal care usage, domestic violence, trauma visits, and school attendance) and obstetric (preterm birth, low birth weight, infant feeding methods) outcomes for each group were explored. Teenagers were interviewed following delivery on the postpartum floor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Data on the prenatal and obstetric outcomes were gathered using a structured interview guide and chart review. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1989), Maton and Teti\u27s School Status Questionnaire (Stevenson, Maton, and Teti, 1998), and a modified version of the Abuse Assessment Screen (Parker and McFarlane, 1991) were also utilized. Characteristics of the relationship with the father of the baby were gathered at delivery. Data were analyzed using quantitative methods. The Roy Adaptation Model served as the guiding framework for this investigation