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The study described in this report was intended to provide researchers with comprehensive, longitudinal baseline data on average children and their families. The study focused on positive growth and development by identifying a national sample of children and families for researchers to study. The children were examined in five main areas: (1) relationships with parents, peers and teachers; (2) behavior; (3) socioemotional well being; (4) health, and access to health care; and (5) standardized test results. The study also examined factors affecting children's positive achievement and found that the following factors mattered most: (1) good health; (2) reading; (3) parental presence; and (4) positive parental/child relationship. The study also provided evidence to support the importance of: (1) educated parents; (2) verbally able parents; (3) parents with high expectations; and (4) parents who spend quality time with their children. The report is organized into five sections. Part one provides an introduction to the study, while part two, "Measuring Children's Well Being," describes five indicators of children's well-being. Part three, "How Well Are Children Doing?" analyzes the data on children's well-being by indicator. Part four, "What Matters Most for Children's Achievement and Adjustment?" explains the most important aspects of positive child development. The final section of the report summarizes the general study conclusions. (Author/SD)

This report examines whether educationally disadvantaged or at-risk preschool children have access to center-based early childhood programs similar to the access enjoyed by advantaged children, and whether the programs are of comparable quality. Eight risk factors that represent gross indications of educational disadvantage are examined, including low income, single parent household, primary language other than English, and a disabling condition. The first part of the report focuses on access to center-based programs. It looks at the association between each risk factor and enrollment. The second part of the report addresses the issue of the quality of programs in which children are enrolled, specifically the extent to which their average group sizes and ratio of children to staff met both state and professional standards. The report concludes that some at-risk children have better access to early childhood programs than other at-risk children, and that the risk factors associated with lower enrollment include low household income, being a child of a poorly educated mother or a mother who was a teenager when she first became pregnant, and living in a large household. With regard to access to programs of similar quality, the report notes that the quality of programs enrolling children from low income families did not differ from that of programs enrolling children from higher income families. Black children were less likely than white children to be enrolled in programs that met state standards, but more likely to be enrolled in programs that met professional standards. Three appendixes provide results of a methodological study comparing the reports from parents with those of their children's care providers. Contains 55 references. (HTH)

The basic hypothesis explored in this report is that a young age at birth of a first child is directly associated with becoming a female family head and/or welfare recipient. To determine the validity of this hypothesis, the effect of premarital birth, a young age at first marriage, educational attainment, and family size are explored. Data from two surveys, the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women and the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics, are used in the exploration of these variables. Findings presented indicate that early childbearing is not directly related to subsequent welfare dependency. However, it is argued that teenage birth can increase the probability of welfare receipt indirectly in a number of ways. Some of the reasons given include such factors as larger family size, disrupted schooling, lowered learning ability, and lack of support programs. Other relevant variables are race and regional characteristics. (EB)

Examined in this document are the different ways in which the age a woman has her first child might affect her later well-being. Specific questions addressed include: (1) How do teenage mothers compare later in life with young women who postpone their first birth to their early twenties? and (2) If they are less well off, what explanation can researchers provide as to the process? Data from two surveys, the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women and the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics, are used in the analysis. Of the variables available in the two data sets, this study examines race, age, parental socioeconomic status, number of siblings, whether the oldest child, urban or farm background, a foreign-born parent, southern background, religious affiliation (Catholic), and whether or not the respondent grew up with both natural parents, as possible determinants of both age at first birth and age at first marriage. Other factors considered include income, education, and labor force experience. Findings presented indicate that the age at which a woman bears her first child can contribute or detract from her well-being at a much later stage, but that this process does not have to be inevitable. (Author/EB)

This document summarizes the findings of a research report which focuses on the consequences of early childbearing on the later life of the mother. Education, family size, marriage and marriage stability, labor force participation and earnings, welfare receipt, and poverty are all considered. Each of these outcomes is described separately. In addition, the interrelationships between these outcomes are put into the perspective of causal models. These models explore the indirect as well as the direct effects of a woman's age at first childbirth on her later well-being. The reader is referred to a series of related papers which contain research methodologies, statistical tables, variable definitions, and relevant research literature that focus on the particular outcomes of this research in greater detail. (Author/EB)

Examined in this document is the effect the age at which a young woman has her first birth has on her later childbearing. Data from the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women are used in conjunction with a review of related literature in examining such factors as fertility, premarital pregnancy, religious background, educational achievement, family background, labor force status, race, birth cohort, age, and social class, and their roles in affecting subsequent family size. Findings presented indicate that the initiation of parenthood during the teen years seems to be associated with considerably larger families later in life. In addition, it is pointed out that given the high cost of rearing children to adulthood, teenage mothers face heavy economic demands over a long period of time, potentially contributing to poverty and/or welfare recipiency. (Author/EB)

The primary focus of this paper is on the impact an early birth has on later labor force participation and earnings of women. Variables affecting the participation of women in a given year and factors affecting the total work experience are discussed in detail. These include: hours worked, annual earnings, hourly wages, occupational status, race, geographical region in which the woman grew up, her educational attainment, the number and ages of her children, her own age, family income, marital status, school enrollment, residential changes, and physical limitations. Other factors discussed are environmental: the local labor market, residence in an urban area or a Southern state, in an area characterized by high or low unemployment, and in an area of good or poor employment opportunities for white and black women. Two longitudinal data sets, the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women and the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics, are used in the analysis. It is concluded that an early first birth does not directly affect a woman's participation in the labor force nor does it affect the occupational status, hours of work, hourly wages, or annual earnings of working women. (Author/EB)

The effects of early childbearing on a woman's later social and economic status are examined in this paper. Previous research has documented an association of early motherhood with lower educational attainment, marital instability, higher subsequent fertility, and later economic poverty. However, these associations have not been tested in multivariate models of attainment that include important controls for social, economic, and motivational factors. Therefore, it is not clear whether the attainment of young women is inhibited by having a first birth at a young age, or whether the achievements of early childbearers are limited by personal and social characteristics other than age at first birth. The analyses summarized in this paper evaluate the attainment of approximately 5000 contemporary young American females as it is affected by the age when they bare their first child. In addition, the effect of the legitimacy status of the birth is evaluated. Quantified results and analytical discussion focus upon education; family size (fertility); marital stability; and occupational and income status. Additional foci include an examination of the relationship between female headed families, welfare dependency, and poverty. Some means are suggested by which the government, the schools, and other institutions could ameliorate the problems of high teenage fertility. (Author/GC)

Examines the child-care needs and arrangements of working and nonworking-poor and working-class families relative to middle-class families. Suggests that child-care decisions of low-income parents appear to be very similar to those of high-income parents; what differs is access, including convenience, and the ability to afford adequate programs. (AA)