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The preschool home literacy environment provided by teenage mothers

Teenage pregnancy is an issue receiving a growing amount of attention in the United States, with approximately one million children born to teenage mothers annually. Teen mothers tend to function less effectively in numerous realms than their peers who delay child‐rearing, and the children of teen mothers are at greater risk of school failure. In the present study we surveyed 493 mothers (22% teen mothers) in order to compare the home literacy environments provided to preschoolers by teenage versus non‐teenage mothers. In general, the teen mothers provided a home literacy environment that afforded their children fewer literacy experiences. The implications of these findings for the development of oral language and early reading‐related skills are discussed.