Enhancing intuitive skills among adolescent mothers

Studies indicate that adolescent mothers differ from adult mothers in their ability to interact with the infant in an adaptive fashion. In particular, teenage mothers appear to possess immature representational capacities which prevent them from predicting imminent infant achievement. As a result, they behave in a manner that undermines the emergence of new developmental skills in the infant. For example, the visual and vocal cues of adolescent mothers tend to be either subdued or absent, while holding behavior often fails to convey a sense of security. Physically punitive actions are also more common among these younger caregivers than among adult mothers. The application of a new developmental strategy referred to as previewing may, however, reverse these trends by fostering representational and interpersonal skills in adolescent mothers.     

Nonpsychotic postpartum depression among adolescent mothers

This study examined the extent to which childbearing increases vulnerability to clinical depression and depressive symptomatology among primiparous adolescent girls (ages 14 to 18). Childbearing Ss (n = 128) were assessed during pregnancy, 6 weeks postpartum, and 1 year postpartum. Matched nonchildbearing Ss (n = 114) were assessed at corresponding time points. Six weeks postpartum, 6% of the childbearing adolescents met Research Diagnostic Criteria for major depression and 20% for minor depression. These rates were not significantly different from those found for nonchildbearing Ss (4% major depression, 10% minor depression). However, higher rates of somatic symptoms of depression were found among the childbearing Ss than among the nonchildbearing Ss.     

Parenting attitudes of adolescent and older mothers

The parenting attitudes of adolescent and older mothers were assessed at 1 and 12 months postpartum to explore group differences and determine if these attitudes predicted quality of home environment and parenting behaviors at 12 months. Adolescent mothers scored significantly lower than did older mothers in empathy toward children's needs, but there were no significant group differences on three other parenting attitude constructs. There were no significant correlations between parenting attitudes at 1 month and parenting behaviors at 12 months for either group. For adolescent mothers at 12 months postpartum, the only attitude construct that was significantly related to concurrent quality of parenting was developmental expectations of the child. These and other findings are discussed in the context of current theory and intervention related to adolescent parenting.     

Contributions of a supportive work environment to parents' well-being and orientation to work

Examined the joint and unique contributions of informal social support in the workplace and formal, family-responsive benefits and policies provided by employers to the job-related attitudes and personal well-being of employed parents with a young child. Eighty married men, 169 married women, and 72 single women with a preschool child completed a survey concerning social support from co-workers and supervisor, utilization of family-responsive benefits and policies, readiness to leave the employer for additional benefits, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, role strain, and health symptoms. Among the findings: (a) Fathers and mothers expressed equal levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but mothers reported more role strain and health symptoms; (b) nearly 48% of married women's organizational commitment was accounted for by measures of support in the workplace; (c) informal social support at work was significantly more important to men's well-being than that of women; and (d) formal, family-responsive policies appeared more consequential for the prediction of women's role strain, perhaps because of women's greater responsibility for adjusting work life to meet the demands of family roles.     

Childrearing of firstborns by adolescent and older mothers

Adolescent and older mothers of firstborn infants were observed and interviewed to learn about their childrearing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Adolescent mothers knew as much about developmental milestones and had equally positive attitudes about childrearing as older mothers. No significant differences existed between groups during observed sessions of direct childcare interactions. However, adolescent mothers scored significantly lower than older mothers on a measure of overall stimulation provided for the infant. Also, adolescents relied more on relatives and their mothers for help and information about childcare, while older mothers turned more often to friends. Implications of these results for providers of service to adolescent mothers are discussed.     

Professional support for adolescent mothers: Who gives it,how adolescent mothers evaluate it,what they would prefer

Forty-two adolescent mothers with 2-year-old children were questioned about their sources of social support, their satisfaction with that support, and their views about including members of their informal support network in the receipt of professional services. The results indicated that 74% of the mothers received parenting advice from some professional source, as well as from their informal support network, and that most were satisfied with their professional contacts. Nonetheless, 75% of the mothers indicated that they would like additional parenting advice from parenting classes, organized neighborhood groups, or from visiting public health nurses or other child development specialists. Ninety percent of the mothers thought it would be helpful to have members of their informal support network participate with them in the receipt of professional services, and 81% thought these individuals would be willing to do so. The implications of these findings for both future research and the design and implementation of programs directed toward adolescent parents and their children are discussed.     

The process of pregnancy resolution among adolescent mothers

This paper reports on in-depth interviews with black and white unmarried adolescent mothers, from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, about their pregnancy resolution. They revealed the importance of family members and other significant adults in the decision process. The analysis also indicated that personal, familial, and religious values were primary considerations in deciding to bear and keep their children.     

Strange situation behavior of infants with adolescent mothers

Forty 6-month-old infants and their adolescent mothers were observed interacting at home and in Ainsworth's Strange Situation procedure when the infants were 14 months old. There were significantly more A-group infants (45%) and fewer C-group infants (3%) at 14 months in this sample of adolescent mothers than in other samples of adult mothers. Furthermore, A-group attachments were more common when levels of dyadic engagement at 6 months had been lower, and future A-group infants were less vocal at 6 months than were future B-group infants. At 6 months, mothers of future B-group infants provided more care than did mothers of future A-group infants. These findings provide some support for claims that adolescent mothers provide parenting of lower quality than adult mothers and that quality of early interactions may predict subsequent infant behavior in the Strange Situation.     

Preschool language development among children of adolescent mothers

This longitudinal study examined a comprehensive set of predictors of preschool language performance in a sample of children of adolescent mothers. Six domains of risk (low maternal verbal ability, intergenerational risk, contextual risk, relational risk, home environmental risk, and child characteristics) for poor preschool language development, measured throughout early childhood, were examined in a sample of 154 children born to adolescent mothers. Logistic regression revealed that having a poor language-learning home environment was associated with children's low language scores even after accounting for mothers' below-average verbal ability. More importantly, however, was the exploration of the 'dual risk' hypothesis that evaluated the effects of combined risk factors. Being reared by a mother with low verbal ability amplified the risk of a poor quality home linguistic environment, whereas having a poor home linguistic environment did not adversely affect the language development of children with mothers of average verbal ability. Implications for intervention are discussed with regard to specificity of intervention efforts within subpopulations of risk identified in this paper.     

The psychological experiences of foster mothers of adolescent children

The present study explored the psychological experiences of foster mothers who were fostering adolescents abandoned by their biological parents and whose parents had passed away. A purposive sample of 20 foster mothers (age range 25 to 83 years) was informants. They completed semi-structured interviews on their experiences of providing care to foster children. Thematic analysis of the data revealed the following themes: structure of the support system, crisis management, relationships management, and resilience with spirituality as coping mechanisms. Foster parenting of adolescent children requires qualities of perseverance, love, humility, and faith in carers.     

Targeting adolescent mothers with depressive symptoms for early intervention

Infants of mothers with depressive symptoms show developmental delays if symptoms persist over the first 6 months of the infant's life, thus highlighting the importance of identifying those mothers for early intervention. In Study 1, mothers with depressive symptoms (n = 160) and mothers without depressive symptoms (n = 100) and their infants were monitored to identify variables from the first 3 months that predict which mothers would still be symptomatic at 6 months. A "dysregulation" profile was noted for the infants of depressed mothers, including lower Brazelton scores, more indeterminate sleep, and elevated norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine levels at the neonatal period, and greater right frontal EEG activation, lower vagal tone, and negative interactions at the 3- and 6-month periods. A group of maternal variables from the neonatal and 3-month assessments accounted for 51% of the variance in the mothers' continuing depressive symptoms. These variables included greater right frontal EEG activation, lower vagal tone, and less positive interactions at 3 months, and elevated norepinephrine, serotonin, and cortisol levels at the neonatal stage. In Study 2, a similar sample of mothers with depressive symptoms (n = 160) and without depressive symptoms (n = 100) was recruited and followed to 3 months. Those symptomatic mothers who had values above (or below) the median (depending on the negative direction) on the predictor variables identified in Study 1 (taken from the first 3 months) were then randomly assigned to an intervention or a control group at 3 months. These groups were then compared with each other, as well as with the group without depressive symptoms, at 6 and 12 months. The intervention, conducted from 3 to 6 months, consisted of free day care for the infants and a rehab program (social, educational, and vocational) plus several mood induction interventions for the mothers, including relaxation therapy, music mood induction, massage therapy, and mother-infant interaction coaching. Although the mothers who received the intervention continued to have more depressive symptoms than did the nondepressed mothers, their interactions significantly improved and their biochemical values and vagal tone normalized. Their infants also showed more positive interations, better growth, fewer pediatric complications, and normalized biochemical values, and by 12 months their mental and motor scores were better than those of the infants in the control group.     

Revelations of adolescent mothers: an intensive case-study approach

An intensive case-study approach was utilized with a sample of low-income females (19 black, 1 white) enrolled in a program for adolescent mothers. Audiotaped interviews examined self-image, gender role beliefs, relationships, ways of knowing, and future plans. Participants revealed a positive self-image, an association of womanhood with motherhood, an ability to picture themselves in a variety of future roles and relationships, negative attitudes toward men, matriarchal family structures, and subjective ways of knowing. The results were interpreted in the context of identity formation. Limitations included the presence of white interviewers and confounding effects of program participation. The findings have implications for future research in relationship and courtship patterns of the black subculture and the role of motherhood in identity development.     

Parental influences on self-regulation and achievement in children with adolescent mothers

The predictors of academic achievement and self-regulation in 95 high-risk children studied from birth were investigated during the second grade. Parenting, early maternal adjustment, child adjustment and temperament were hypothesized to predict the emergence of self-regulation. Although parenting, maternal adjustment, and child adjustment were related to achievement and classroom adjustment, they were not related to children's self-regulation, which was the strongest predictor of teacher ratings of academic performance, standardized achievement in math and reading, and classroom adjustment.     

Issues in group work with older lesbians

This article outlines considerations in group interventions with older lesbians. It is intended for mental health professionals who work—as leaders, supervisors, and consultants—with various kinds of groups in their professional practice, including therapy, psychoeducational, support, growth, recreational, and self-help groups. First, unique issues in the life circumstances of older lesbians are addressed. Next, five case examples are presented that illustrate the usefulness of group interventions with this population. The article concludes with recommendations for effective practice.     

Differences between adolescent mothers and nonmothers: an interview study

In-depth interviews were conducted with nine adolescent females--five African-Americans, three Mexican-Americans, and one Anglo--all residing in a licensed care institution. Four of them were already mothers, four were not mothers, and one was pregnant. Abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction were found to be more pronounced among the mothers and the pregnant adolescent. Although the results were consistent with the findings of other studies that have investigated the backgrounds and attitudes of adolescent mothers and nonmothers, the interview format revealed the extent and degree of dysfunction in the lives of these young women.     

Peer relationships as a source of support for adolescent mothers

There is speculation that the pregnancy and parenthood of adolescent mothers cause changes in their peer relationships such that their peers become less able to provide support. Little empirical evidence exists to support such speculation. The authors assessed the relative amounts and types of support provided by friends and relatives to adolescent mothers, and examined peer support in relation to parenting stress. Invitations were sent to all 480 women recruited through public access birth records in two northeastern Ohio counties who were 19 years old and younger and who had given birth to their first child during the previous nine months. The counties incorporate urban, suburban, and rural communities. 66 women volunteered, of whom 46 eventually participated in the study. They were aged 13-19 years (mean age, 17.43 years) at the birth of their child. Approximately 66% were White and 12 were married. Of the 36 women who reported their family income, 88% reported yearly income of less than $20,000; of those, 15 reported income of less than $5000. 28 of the adolescent mothers were unemployed. 22 were enrolled in school at the time of data collection. Of the 24 who were not enrolled in school, 15 had already completed 12th grade. The Inventory of Social Contacts measured levels of perceived child-rearing, emotional, and material support and interference from family and friends, while the Parenting Stress Index assessed self-reported parenting stress arising from child and parent characteristics. Results of repeated-measures ANOVAs and Pearson correlations indicate that, compared to family, friends provide more emotional support and less interference. Parenting stress is buffered more effectively by the support provided by friends.     

Too close for comfort: the challenges of engaging with sexuality in work with adolescents

This paper explores some of the ways in which sexuality can intrude into the psychotherapeutic relationship and present both opportunities and risks to our work with adolescents. It highlights some of the complexities of this area of the clinical encounter, exploring the particular difficulties encountered by both patient and therapist when sexuality emerges in the transference and countertransference. While we are well aware of the centrality of sexual development during adolescence, far less has been written about the way in which sexuality and the erotic transference emerges and impacts on both patient and therapist. Given the profoundly unsettling nature of this area of work and its capacity to disrupt our thinking and psychic equilibrium, it is easy to underestimate how much we are drawn to avoid, negate and defend ourselves against registering such experiences. Through the discussion of clinical material with two adolescent patients, this paper explores some of these dynamics, addressing some of the technical dilemmas that frequently challenge us in this area of work. These include questions about whether and when it is therapeutically important and effective to take up and interpret the emergence of sexuality more directly in the transference and some of the risks to our patients when we ‘play safe’ and fail to do so. Most importantly, this paper aims to facilitate further thinking and discussion about an important but uncomfortable and easily neglected area of our work.     

Determinants of attachment and mastery motivation in infants born to adolescent mothers

Thirty mothers aged 14–19 and their approximately one-year-old babies participated in this study of the influence of the social support network and stress on infant-mother attachment and on mastery motivation. During the home visit the mothers completed a demographic questionnaire, the Psychosocial Kinship Inventory and the Life Events Stress Scale. In the laboratory the infants' mastery motivation and infant-mother attachment were assessed. A discriminant function analysis indicated that infant-mother attachment was predicted best by the social support network. Multiple regression analyses showed that infant persistence was significantly related to the social network, living with the infant's grandmother and financial aid. The results stress the importance of contextual influences on infant socio-emotional development.