Clinical and research issues related to teen mothers' childrearing practices

As increased numbers of teen mothers choose to keep and rear their children, the topic of their childrearing abilities has become the subject of intense theorizing, philosophizing, and research. Research about the developmental deviations of teen mothers' children has suggested that teen mothers are at risk for childrearing failure. The mechanisms through which the multiple, complex, and interactive variables operate to produce the children's less than optimal developmental outcomes remain obscure. In this article selected examples of teen childrearing research are reviewed to provide the background for a discussion of selected methodological and conceptual issues. Implications for nursing practice and research are discussed in terms of a collaborative researcher-clinician effort.