... However, regardless of the source of these concerns, strong evidence now exists to suggest that an early transition to parenthood is associated with wide-ranging negative outcomes for young mothers and their children. In particular, compared to older mothers, the life course outcomes of teenage mothers tend to be characterized by fewer life opportunities and higher rates of psychosocial disadvantage, including leaving school early, educational underachievement, prolonged welfare dependence, decreased marital opportunities, less competent and more punitive parenting, maternal depression, and greater exposure to partner violence (Bardone, Moffitt, Caspi, Dickson, & Silva, 1996;Brooks-Gunn & Chase-Lansdale, 1995;Colletta, 1983;Furstenberg, Brooks-Gunn, & Morgan, 1987;Klepinger, Lundberg, & Plotnick, 1995;Woodward & Fergusson, in press). Children born to teenage mothers have also been shown to be at increased risk for a range of adverse developmental outcomes, with these outcomes spanning higher rates of emotional and behavioral disorders, language delay, learning problems, educational underachievement, delinquency, and adolescent drug and alcohol problems (Brooks-Gunn, Guo, & Furstenberg, 1993;Keown, Woodward, & Field, in press;Moore, Morrison, & Greene, 1997). ...