Impact of teenage pregnancy on education and the labor market in Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-53575624bmjcKeywords:
Pregnancy, Adolescence, Propensity score matchingAbstract
Many adolescents drop out of school during pregnancy or after the birth of a child, which compromises their educational trajectory and may subsequently hinder their insertion into the labor market. Given this context, this study aims to analyze the effects of adolescent pregnancy on educational outcomes specifically the completion of high school and higher education–and on labor market outcomes, considering indicators such as hourly wages and formal employment. To this end, data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey (Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde – PNS) were used, applying the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method. The evidence shows that becoming pregnant during adolescence reduces the likelihood of completing higher education and has a negative effect on hourly wages compared to women who became pregnant in adulthood. When the control group is composed of women who have never been pregnant, the negative effects on labor market outcomes are even more pronounced for those who became pregnant during adolescence, reducing the likelihood of formal employment and lowering wage levels.
Downloads
References
Abramovay, M., M. G. Castro, e J. J. Waiselfisz. 2015. Juventudes na escola, sentidos e buscas: Por que frequentam? Brasília: Flacso-Brasil, OEI, MEC.
Aguiar, M. A. S. de, D. T. de Sousa, G. dos S. Barbosa et al. 2024. “Fatores de risco, aspectos socioeconômicos e demográficos associados com a gravidez na adolescência.” Redin – Revista Educacional Interdisciplinar 13 (1): 180–200.
Almeida, M. C. C., E. M. L. Aquino, e A. P. de Barros. 2006. “School trajectory and teenage pregnancy in three Brazilian state capitals.” Cadernos de Saúde Pública 22: 1397–1409. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2006000700005.
Assini-Meytin, L. C., e K. M. Green. 2015. “Long-term consequences of adolescent parenthood among African--American urban youth: A propensity score matching approach.” Journal of Adolescent Health 56 (5): 529–535.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.01.005.
Ayadi, M. F., G. Onodipe, e O. E. Adepoju. 2025. “Adolescent fertility and its impact on educational attainment in Nigeria: A propensity score matching approach.” International Journal of Healthcare Management 18 (2): 318–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/20479700.2023.2295113.
Berthelon, M., e D. I. Kruger. 2017. “Does adolescent motherhood affect education and labor market outcomes of mothers? A study on young adult women in Chile during 1990–2013.” International Journal of Public Health 62 (2): 293–303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0926-5.
Cavalcanti, I. T. do N. 2015. Análise do diferencial de desempenho entre estudantes cotistas e não cotistas da UFBA pelo propensity score matching. Dissertação (Mestrado em Economia), Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador.
Chakraborty, K. S., e K. M. Villa. 2024. “Teen parent trap? The education and labor implications of motherhood and fatherhood during the transition from adolescence to adulthood in Cebu, the Philippines.” Economics & Human Biology 55: 101443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101443.
Cruz, M. S. da, F. J. V. Carvalho, e G. Irffi. 2016. “Perfil socioeconômico, demográfico, cultural, regional e comportamental da gravidez na adolescência no Brasil.” Planejamento e Políticas Públicas 46.
Daltoé, C. M., L. Cardieri, e V. M. N. Soares. 2024. Estupro de vulnerável: caracterização de crianças mães: Brasil e regiões em 2022. Belo Horizonte: Rede Feminista de Saúde. Disponível em:
https://www.redesaude.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Estudo_-Meninas-ma%CC%83es-em-2022.pdf.
Diniz, E., e S. H. Koller. 2012. “Fatores associados à gravidez em adolescentes brasileiros de baixa renda.” Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto) 22: 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X2012000300002.
Ferreira, E. B., J. L. de A. Veras, S. A. Brito et al. 2014. “Causas predisponentes à gestação entre adolescentes.” Revista de Pesquisa Cuidado é Fundamental Online 6 (4): 1571–1579. https://doi.org/10.9789/2175-5361.2014.v6i4.1571-1579.
Herrera Almanza, C., e D. E. Sahn. 2018. “Early childbearing, school attainment, and cognitive skills: Evidence from Madagascar.” Demography 55 (2): 643–668. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0664-9.
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). 2015. Censo demográfico. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE.
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Indicadores sociodemográficos e de saúde no Brasil. Acesso em 26 jul. 2022. https://www.ibge.gov.br/.
Jolly, M. C., N. Sebire, J. Harris et al. 2000. “Obstetric risks of pregnancy in women less than 18 years old.” Obstetrics & Gynecology 96 (6): 962–966. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0029-7844(00)01075-9.
Jonas, K., R. Crutzen, B. van den Borne et al. 2016. “Teenage pregnancy rates and associations with other health risk behaviours: A three-wave cross-sectional study among South African school-going adolescents.” Reproductive Health 13 (1): 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-016-0170-8.
Kassouf, A. L., V. Ahmed, A. Zabsonré et al. 2020. Examining the Impact of Early Childbearing on Labor Outcomes in Brazil. Partnership for Economic Policy Working Paper 2020-19. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3673549.
Lee, D. 2010. “The early socioeconomic effects of teenage childbearing: A propensity score matching approach.” Demographic Research 23: 697–736. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2010.23.25.
Martins, M. da G., G. H. N. dos Santos, M. da S. Sousa et al. 2011. “Associação de gravidez na adolescência e prematuridade.” Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia 33 (11): 354–360.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-72032011001100006.
Merrill, K. G., L. Knight, J. Nakuti et al. 2023. “The association between violence victimization and subsequent unplanned pregnancy among adolescent girls in Uganda: Do primary schools make a difference?” PLOS Global Public Health 3 (7): e0001141. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001141.
Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Análise da Situação de Saúde. Sistema de Informações sobre Nascidos Vivos (SINASC). Acesso em 29 nov. 2022.
http://tabnet.datasus.gov.br/cgi/deftohtm.exe?sinasc/cnv/nvuf.def.
Narita, R., e M. D. M. Diaz. 2016. “Teenage motherhood, education, and labor market outcomes of the mother: Evidence from Brazilian data.” Economia 17 (2): 238–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econ.2016.05.003.
Ribeiro, W. A., M. Andrade, B. P. A. Fassarella et al. 2019. “A gravidez na adolescência e os métodos contraceptivos: A gestação e o impacto do conhecimento.” Nursing (São Paulo) 22 (253): 2990–2994. https://doi.org/10.36489/nursing.2019v22i253p2990-2994.
Rosenbaum, P. 2020. “Does early childbearing matter? New approach using Danish register data.” Labour Economics 65: 101852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101852.
Rosenbaum, P. R., e D. B. Rubin. 1983. “The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects.” Biometrika 70 (1): 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/70.1.41.
Rosenbaum, P. R. 2002. Observational studies. 2nd ed. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3692-2_1.
Ruiz-Sternberg, A. M., M. Botero-Pinzon, M. J. Niño-Orrego et al. 2024. “The association of teen pregnancy and violence: A multilevel study in Colombia.” Women’s Health Reports 5 (1): 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1089/whr.2021.0075.
Santos, F. M., E. T. Pazello, e L. S. Anazawa. 2021. “Os impactos da maternidade sobre os resultados socioeconômicos
de curto prazo das adolescentes brasileiras.” Pesquisa e Planejamento Econômico 52 (1). http://dx.doi.org/10.38116/ppe51n1art4.
Sousa, D. T. de, e M. A. S. de Aguiar. 2022. “Diferença salarial devido à maternidade segundo nível educacional.” RED – Revista de Desenvolvimento Econômico 3 (50). https://revistas.unifacs.br/index.php/rde/article/view/7401.
http://dx.doi.org/10.36810/rde.v3i50.7401.
Wado, Y. D., E. A. Sully, e J. N. Mumah. 2019. “Pregnancy and early motherhood among adolescents in five East African countries: A multilevel analysis of risk and protective factors.” BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 19(1): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2204-z.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Bruno Freires Ferreira, Maria Adreciana Silva de Aguiar, João Mário Santos de França, Celina Santos de Oliveira
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By submitting an article, the author authorizes its publication and attests that it has not been submitted to any other journal. The original article is considered final. Articles selected for publication are proofread for grammatical and orthographic errors. The journal does not pay rights for published articles. The Institute of Economic Research from the School of Economics, Business and Accounting of the University of São Paulo (Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo) owns the journal's copyright.
Atualizado em 14/08/2025