Personal adjustment during pregnancy and adolescent parenting

Adolescence, Spring, 1993 by Anne Wurtz Passino, Thomas L. Whitman, John G. Borkowski, Cynthia J. Schellenbach, Scott E. Mazwell, Deborah Keogh, Elizabeth Rellinger

This study examined "naturally occurring differences" in personal adjustment (social competence, behavior problems, and problem-solving skills) among representative groups of pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents and pregnant adults. Differences in parenting stress and parenting style were also assessed among a subsample of adolescent and adult mothers.

Finally, the relationship between prenatally assessed personal adjustment and parenting was evaluated in the adolescent mother group. The contributions of important demographic characteristics (socioeconomic status and race) to both between- and within-group relationships were examined. Results suggested that pregnant adolescents were less socially competent and less proficient in their problem solving than their nonpregnant peers and that they exhibited more behavioral problems than a pregnant adult comparison group. Adolescent mothers displayed higher levels of parenting stress and were less responsive and sensitive in interactions with their infants than adult mothers. Support for the hypothesized link between prenatally assessed personal adjustment and adolescent parenting stress was found, whereas no relationship between socioeconomic status and race and parenting stress was established. These results suggest that intervention with young mothers identified during pregnancy as having personal problems might forestall parenting problems that arise during early child rearing. In recent years there has been concern about the increase in adolescent childbearing, especially in regard to the competence of teenage mothers to function effectively as sensitive and responsive parents. As a result of their asynchronous developmental transition, adolescent mothers are exposed to increased stress which may be detrimental to their well-being and that of their children (Feldman & Feldman, 1975; Russell, 1980; Ventura, 1980). Teenage mothers must cope not only with the stressors of adolescence, but also with stress associated with pregnancy and parenthood. These transactions occur at a time when their personal resources for coping with stress are still developing. Because of the multiple stressors they confront and their developmental immaturity, it has been argued that many adolescent mothers may provide less than optimal parenting to their children (Belsky, Lerner, & Spanier, 1984; Petersen & Crockett, 1986). A number of studies have noted significant differences between adults and adolescents in maternal affect and behaviors (Coll, Hoffman, & Oh, 1987; Jones, Green, & Krauss, 1980; Osofsky & Osofsky, 1970). Motherhood appears to be more stressful for adolescents than for adults (Brown, Adams, & Kellan, 1981; Thompson, 1982). Schilmoeller and Baranowski (1985) also found that adolescent mothers, compared to older mothers, were significantly less responsive to their children, less stimulating, and more restrictive and punitive. Other research has indicated that adolescent mothers were less likely to verbally interact with their infants (Brooks-Gunn & Furstenberg, 1986; Epstein, 1980; McLaughlin, Sandler, Sherrod, Vietze, & O'Conner, 1979; Osofsky & Osofsky, 1970; Roosa, Fitzgerald, & Carlson, 1982). Heinicke, Diskin, Ramsey-Klee, and Given (1983) suggested that problematic interactional patterns between the adolescent mother and her infant can be best understood through an examination of the mother's stable personal characteristics. Based on both theory and research, it seems particularly likely that a major determinant of parenting effectiveness is the mother's general personal adjustment (Lazarus, 1976; Tyler, 1978). A mother who is socially and psychologically well adjusted should be better prepared to deal with the numerous stressors associated with raising a child and more effective in her parenting interactions. Support for this assumption has been found in several studies. Colletta and Gregg (1981) reported that the level of emotional stress experienced by adolescent mothers was less for those with greater personal resources and more direct coping styles. Similarly, Mondell and Tyler (1981) found that parents with an internal locus of control, a high level of interpersonal trust, and active coping styles demonstrated higher levels of acceptance, warmth, and helpfulness and lower levels of disapproval in parent-child interactions. A study by Unger and Wandersman (1985) indicated that the self-esteem and feelings of mastery of adolescent parents predicted parenting skill and satisfaction. Although research suggests that a mother's ability to adjust to stress and to cope with her life situation influences her parenting behavior (Crnic, Greenberg, Ragozin, Robinson, & Basham, 1983; Feldman & Nash, 1985; Grossman, Eichler, & Winickoff, 1980; Vaughn, Egeland, Sroufe, & Waters, 1979; Weinraub & Wolf, 1983) and that pregnant adolescents have personality styles which may not be conducive to effective parenting (Carlson, Kaiser, Yeaworth, & Carlson, 1984; Chilman, 1980; Morrison, 1985; Nelson, Gumlak, & Politano, 1986; Pardeck & Pardeck, 1984), past research has not directly evaluated whether the personality characteristics which distinguish pregnant adolescents from nonpregnant adolescents and pregnant adults are subsequently related to the quality of adolescent parenting (Walters, Walters, & McKenry, 1986). Following suggestions by Landy, Schubert, Cleland, Clark, and Montgomery (1983), the present study compared the personal adjustment of pregnant adolescents with pregnant adults and nonpregnant adolescents. As a consequence, unique personal characteristics of pregnant teenagers could be identified. In contrast to most previous research, a larger subject sample and a broader array of personal adjustment assessments were employed, including assessments of social competence, behavior problems, and problem- solving skills. To investigate the specific connections between personality and parenting suggested by Belsky (1984), Colletta and Gregg (1981), and Whitman, Borkowski, Schellenbach, and Nath (1987), the impact of adolescent personal adjustment, as measured prenatally, on subsequent parenting stress and maternal behavior was evaluated. One aim of the present study was to describe "naturally occurring differences" (1) in personal adjustment (social competence, behavior problems, and problem-solving skills) among representative groups of pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents and pregnant adults and (2) in parenting stress and behavior among subsamples of adolescent and adult mothers in order to infer population characteristics. The contribution of important demographic characteristics, including socioeconomic status (SES) and race, to age- related differences in measures of personal adjustment and parenting was assessed. In addition, the relationships between prenatally assessed personal adjustment, parenting stress, and parenting behaviors were evaluated in the adolescent mother group, and the unique contributions of personal adjustment, SES, and race to individual differences in parenting were examined. It was predicted that differences in personal adjustment would distinguish nonpregnant adolescents, pregnant adolescents, and pregnant adults. Specifically, it was expected that adolescent mothers would be less well adjusted than adult mothers and their nonpregnant peers. Based upon past research (Brooks-Gunn & Furstenberg, 1986; Brown, Adams, & Kellan, 1981; Roosa, Fitzgerald, & Carlson, 1982; Ventura, 1980), it was predicted that adolescent mothers would experience higher levels of stress due to parenting than their adult counterparts, and would display less optimal parenting behavior than adult mothers. Finally, it was predicted that poorer prenatal personal adjustment among the adolescent sample would be associated with higher levels of parenting stress and problematic parenting behavior during early infancy. METHOD Subjects Three groups of participants (pregnant teenagers, nonpregnant teenagers, and pregnant adults) from a middle-sized midwestern urban area with a population of 250,000 were recruited through the following agencies: (1) a school-aged mothers alternative education program, (2) Catholic Social Services, (3) United Health Services, (4) local public schools, (5) the family practice residency programs of two local hospitals, (6) a Planned Parenthood clinic, (7) four OB-GYN clinics, (8) the Prepared Childbirth Association, and (9) American Red Cross parenting classes. Participants in the first phase included 191 pregnant adolescents, 60 nonpregnant adolescents, and 53 pregnant adults. The participants were evaluated during their final trimester of pregnancy. The mean ages (and ranges) for the pregnant and nonpregnant teenagers and pregnant adults were 17.00 (14.28-19.14), 15.91 (13.80-19.07), and 24.96 (22.07-33.67) years, respectively. Table 1 shows the racial and socioeconomic characteristics of the three groups. Socioeconomic status was measured by a modified Hollingshead Index. For the adolescent groups, SES was derived by employing information from the subject's family of origin. The majority of adolescents lived with their mother and/or father, were more dependent upon their parents for financial and emotional support, and were single. In contrast, the primary source of support for adult mothers came from their partner (or husband). The second phase of the study took place when the infants of the participants were between 5 and 7 months of age. One hundred fourteen primiparous adolescent mothers and 25 first-time adult mothers from the first phase of the study participated. The mean ages (and ranges) of these adolescent and adult mothers at the time of initial testing were 16.98 (14.28-19.14) and 25.19 (22.07-33.67) years, respectively. It should be noted that no characteristics distinguished subjects who participated in the second phase from those who did not. Information obtained from hospital birth records indicated that, in general, the infants of both adolescent and adult mothers were born in good health. Average birthweights of infants of adolescent and adult mothers were both around 3200 grams. Additionally, developmental assessments conducted with the children when they were between 5 and 7 months old indicated that the children of adolescent and adult mothers were both performing at age- appropriate levels: children of adolescents averaged 105 on the Bayley Mental Index, whereas children of adults obtained a mean score of 111.