A teenage mother that is poor will most likely end up on welfare for assistance. Teen mothers are portrayed as welfare dependents whether by default, design, or family habit (Rains, 1998). If support does not exist at home where there is an adult, it is very difficult for teenagers to receive assistance because they are treated as adults when it comes to welfare (Collins, 2000). Which results in a single pregnant or teen parent receiving welfare for only two years. .
Teenage Fathers:.
Adolescent fathers may have problems providing financially for their children or unable to give support. Being young and trying to raise children in a proper way causes difficulties for adolescents. Many studies on teen pregnancy focus directly on the teenage mothers, but not much on the teenage fathers. In 2000, the birth rate for all African-American males 15 to 19 years of age was forty males to a thousand, compared to fifty-five males to a thousand in 1990 (Siecus, 2002). .
Many teen pregnancies involve fathers who are older than the mothers. Because many adolescent mothers are poor, they see relationships with older males as an escape from poverty. The teenage mother look to older males because they feel as if older males make more money than males their age (Lowenthal, 1997). Just because a man is older does not mean that he will be a good candidate to father a child. .
Teen fathers face just as much difficulties of developmental changes while becoming a parent. Studies focused on teen males found that teenage fatherhood is associated with problem behaviors in school, and substance use. Many adolescent fathers are reluctant to get involved with their children, because their own fathers were not involved in their adolescent parenting. Father's walk away from their responsibilities because they may feel that they are too young, unemployed, or simply wants out (Rains, 1998). Teenage fathers can be involved parents on three different levels, according to the Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA) Public Policy Report, through nurturing interactions with their children, through contact with the mothers, and through financial support (Lowenthal, 1997).
