The social and economic outlook for teen parent members of The Forgotten Half is bleak given the statistics on the group as a whole. Earnings are the lowest in 25 years.
Poverty rates are higher overall, except among college graduates.
Particularly hard-hit are the children of single, teen parents. Across a broad range of indicators, starting with poverty, children living with just one parent fare worse than children living with two married parents. Births to unmarried teenage mothers are increasing over time. Among teenage mothers 15-17, those who are unmarried tripled from 23 percent in 1950 to 84 percent in 1996.