The effect of social support on adolescent mothers' styles of parent-child interaction as measured on three separate occasions

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of social support on parent-child interaction in a group of 19 adolescent mothers. The subjects participated in a 20-week model demonstration program in which they worked in a preschool classroom with skilled caregivers who modeled facilitative styles of interacting with young children. Each subject was videotaped while interacting with a 1- to 2-year-old child upon entering the program, midway through the program, and at the end. Results showed that girls who were 16 years or older significantly increased their frequency of using responsive, engaging, and elaborative styles of behavior. Those under age 16 did not show significant changes in these three behaviors. Overall, subjects significantly increased the duration of time they spent observing the child's play behavior.