Adolescent Fertility and the Effect on the Girls’ Education Attainment in Low Socioeconomic Contexts: A Cross-National Analysis

Alí Miguel Arrieta-Arrieta, Universidade Federal De Minas Gerais
Thiago Almeida, Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED)

There is significant concern about adolescent fertility levels in different regions of the world. In regions with greater vulnerability, the fertility rate for this group has decreased heterogeneously and still has a large relative importance in total fertility. The expansion of education and increased access to contraceptive methods have contributed to reducing adolescent fertility, although few studies have explored the implications of this decrease in educational attainment from a comparative perspective. Factors such as maternal education and family context are predictors of educational achievement. It is crucial to examine how they influence adolescent girls who have experienced motherhood. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of adolescent motherhood on educational attainment among young girls from a comparative perspective between Peru, India, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Information from the longitudinal survey rounds “Young Lives” conducted between 2002 and 2016 in the four countries was used. The results suggest that motherhood during adolescence has a significant and deterministic effect on reducing educational attainment, showing similarities for the four countries analyzed. Overall, we found that the mother's level of education has a protective effect for on young mothers, mitigating the negative impact of adolescent fertility on educational achievement.

Keywords: Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Fertility, Longitudinal studies , Data and Methods

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