Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: In this paper, I investigate the relationship between academic achievement during the pre-teen years and the subsequent likelihood of experiencing a teen, non-marital birth among females in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics's Child Development Supplement. Previous research has shown associations between young women's fertility outcomes and various measures of background disadvantage; state policies related to abortion, welfare, and contraception; and her economic and educational prospects. This paper follows the third approach by treating academic achievement as measured by age-standardized scores on three Woodcock-Johnson-R-Revised (WJR) assessments as a reflection of future economic and educational prospects. My analyses control for possible confounding factors, including individual and family background characteristics, state policies, and state economic conditions. My results suggest that, as expected, women with lower levels of academic achievement have an increased likelihood of experiencing a non-marital, teen birth. This relationship is stronger among women who have low non-cognitive skills and when the key independent variable corresponds, in particular, with WJR assessments capturing softer thinking skills.
Author: Cary Lou
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2526976262