Study highlights changing impact of teen childbirth on women's education across generations

Different social contexts can transform the meaning and implications of life experiences. For example, a life event like teen childbirth can have vastly different impacts depending on the era and societal norms. In the post-World War II baby boom, teen births were relatively common. The 1960s, however, was the beginning of a period that marked increasing economic returns from education for women and changing norms about the timing of motherhood.