Issues and problems related to the research on teenage fathers: a critical analysis

Although there are few research studies on adolescent fatherhood, recently sufficient investigations have occurred to merit a critical analysis. In general, research in this area is marred by certain methodological deficiencies. Research in adolescent pregnancy generally ignores the fathers involved, and data on teenage fathers are often inferred or confounded by the use of biased report techniques. Retrospective and post hoc analyses often render inaccurate conclusions, and sampling methods generate unrepresentative subject pools. This article will demonstrate the ways these issues contaminate knowledge about teenage fathers.