A comparison of the psychological resources of adolescents at low and high risk of mistreating their children

Abstract

Objective: Our objective was to compare the psychological resources of pregnant teenagers who are at low and high risk for mistreating their children. Method: We studied 71 participants in a comprehensive, adolescent-oriented maternity program. During the prenatal period, the Family Stress Checklist was used to quantify child abuse potential, with scores ≥25 defining high risk. Information about the social context of the pregnancy and maternal psychological resources was obtained with self-administered questionnaires. A composite psychological resource variable was computed by summing the z scores for intelligence, mental health, and mastery, with scores ≤0 defining the low-resource group. Results: Of the 71 teenagers, 26 (36.6%) were classified as high risk for child abuse and neglect. Compared with low-risk teens, high-risk teens had more behavioral problems, lower psychological resource scores (mean ± SD of z score: −0.98 ± 2.02 compared with 0.39 ± 1.79; P =.004), and were more likely to have low psychological resources (69.2% compared with 44.4%; P =.04). Conclusions: Pregnant teenagers who are at risk for child abuse and neglect exhibit fewer psychological resources than their low-risk peers do, and may therefore benefit preferentially from intensive, in-home intervention. J Pediatr Health Care. (2001). 15, 299-303.