All of these factors, taken together, may suggest that a generalized sense of lack of worth among young women may contribute to an apparent, perhaps subconscious, lack of concern about the future. This may not be so much a conscious playing out of a failure syndrome as a more subtle willingness to let the chips fall where they may, because nothing much makes a difference anyway. In a final section, the research considers how the same set of attitudinal and behavioral correlates may translate into actual fertility behavior. The results indicate that both young mothers and fathers are more likely then their childless counterparts to verbalize levels of depression slightly above average. Behaviorally, the evidence is more positive.
Young mothers are less likely to drink or to hang out with youth who drink.
Programs underway to highlight the risks of drinking to young pregnant women may be having an effect. Motherhood may also have caused them to alter their peer reference groups. Whether the limited positive signals suggested by the results bode well for future behavior remains to be seen. It is also useful to note that whereas early sexual activity was associated with positive feelings for young men, having a child was linked with slightly elevated levels of depression. Also, young fathers were above average in their likelihood of volunteering for positive activities.