11 ADOLESCENT MOTHERS AND THEIR YOUNG CHILDREN

Abstract

It is unclear why the school-aged children of adolescent mothers do less well behaviorally than the children of adult mothers. It has been hypothesized that adolescents may begin to experience mothering problems when their children are approximately one year of age and are becoming independent. We studied the relationship between adolescent maternal age and mother-child interactions of 30 adolescent mothers (x=17.2 yrs.; S.D.=3.4) and their 9-12 month old children in the laboratory. Two ten minute sequences (floor and chair sequences) were videotaped. A trained observer rated the videotapes of the 30 dyads after establishing inter-rater agreement of >0.7 with a second trained observer on a 19 item rating scale. Floor and chair scores were significantly correlated and thus were averaged for each of the 19 items. There were significant negative correlations between maternal age and the following maternal items: ambivalent rejection (-0.6359, p<0.001); insensitivity (-0.4656, p<0.006); inconsistent accessibility (-0.5152, p<0.003); and mild interference (-0.5734, p<0.001). Other significant correlations were: maternal age and minimal social contact of baby with the mother (-0.3167, p<0.05) and neutrality in mother-child interaction (-0.3487, p<0.032). We conclude there is a significant relationship between young maternal age and inconsistent and ambivalent mother-child interactions at 9-12 months in the laboratory.