Abstract
ABSTRACTA mother's propensity to refer to internal states during mother–child interactions is important for her child's developing social understanding. However, adolescent mothers are less likely to reference internal states when interacting with their children. We investigated whether young mothers’ references to internal states are promoted by the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) intervention, an intensive home‐visiting programme designed to support adolescent mothers in England. We also investigated family, maternal, and child factors associated with young mothers’ references to inner states during interactions with their children. Adolescent mothers (n = 483, aged ≤ 19 years when recruited in pregnancy) and their children participated in an observational substudy of a randomized controlled trial investigating the impact of FNP compared to usual care. Mother–child dyads were video‐recorded during free play, and mothers’ speech was coded for use of internal state language (references to cognitions, desires, emotions, intentions, preferences, physiology, and perception). We found no differences in mothers’ use of internal state language between the FNP and usual care groups. A sample‐wide investigation identified that other features of mothers’ language and relationship status with the child's father were associated with internal state language use. Findings are discussed with reference to targeted interventions and implications for future research.
Highlights
Adolescent mothers face numerous individual, social, and economic challenges that place them at increased risk for less optimal parenting practices (Firk, Konrad, HerpertzDahlmann, Scharke, & Dahmen, 2018)
We aimed to investigate the impact of a licensed intensive home visiting intervention (FNP) designed for first-time adolescent mothers on mothers’ use of internal state language during interactions with their toddlers
We hypothesized that mothers in the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) group would produce more references to internal states than those in the usual care group
Summary
Adolescent mothers face numerous individual, social, and economic challenges that place them at increased risk for less optimal parenting practices (Firk, Konrad, HerpertzDahlmann, Scharke, & Dahmen, 2018). Mothers’ internal state language within interactions with their children, such as references to cognitions (thoughts and knowledge), emotions, and desires, is positively associated with other markers of positive maternal behaviors, such as the quantity of maternal speech (e.g., Roberts et al, 2013). Mothers’ internal state language fosters children’s social understanding skills (Tompkins et al, 2018), which in turn, are related to numerous positive child outcomes. Adolescent mothers tend to provide less verbal stimulation, positive affective speech, warm affection, and sensitivity (Garner, Rennie, & Miner, 1996; Keown, Woodward, & Field, 2001), and demonstrate more negative behaviors (e.g., rough handling) when interacting with their children
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