Effects of a cognitive--behavioral, school-based, group intervention with Mexican American pregnant and parenting adolescents

Abstract

The authors evaluated a cognitive-behavioral school-based group intervention for Mexican American pregnant and parenting adolescent girls, using a randomized experimental design, pretest, posttest, and 30-day follow-up. Measurements were completed for 85 participants who were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Standardized measures used included a subscale from the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised, Short Form and subscales of the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences. Data from school records also measured the students' grades and school attendance. At pasttest, the young women who participated in the group intervention had statistically significantly better scores on all outcome measures. The differences between the two groups maintained at the 30-day follow-up. The cognitive-behavioral group intervention shows promise as an effective method for helping Mexican American pregnant and parenting adolescent mothers work toward high school graduation. Key words: adolescent mothers; cognitive-behavioral interventions; experimental; school-based interventions ********* According to the U. S. General Accounting Office (1998), birth rates for adolescents in the United States decreased nationally 18 percent between 1991 and 1998. The picture is not as bright for Hispanic youths. Hispanic youths, compared with other groups, have an alarming rate of adolescent pregnancy. Hispanics are the only group of adolescents for whom the birth rate actually increased in some states between 1991 and 1996 (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1998). These youths are also plagued with other social problems such as poverty, low levels of education, chronic underemployment, increasing delinquent behavior, and school dropout, which impedes their social and economic well-being (Gillock & Reyes, 1999; Pabon, 1998). Also, these problems are catalyzed by the stressors of acculturation (Rew, Resnick, & Blum, 1997), presenting a clear need for programs with Mexican American and other Hispanic adolescent mothers. Despite the need for effective programs for Mexican American adolescent mothers, there is a dearth of empirically supported interventions for this population. In a comprehensive review of programs for adolescent mothers, Seitz and Apfel (1999) found that most effective programs tested had African American and white samples. Although some larger programs such as The New Chance Demonstration, the Learning Earning and Parenting (LEAP) program, and Teen Parent Demonstration had up to 22 percent Hispanic mothers in their samples, these programs achieved only modest or ineffectual outcomes in school achievement and self-sufficiency (Granger & Cytron, 1999). COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS Adolescent mothers face challenges in four domains that predict their economic and social well-being as adults: (1) education, (2) employment, (3) social relationships, and (4) parenting. Of these, the most immediate and well-researched predictor of long-term economic status is education. Studies related to school achievement identify regular attendance and maintaining a reasonably age-appropriate grade level as the most important predictors of high school graduation and a first step in achieving positive outcomes for adolescent mothers. Some programs reviewed by Seitz and Apfel (1999) have been found to be particularly promising and efficacious in their abilities to help adolescent mothers (for example, Furstenberg, BrooksGunn, & Morgan, 1987; Olds, Henderson, & Kitzman, 1994; Olds, Henderson, & Kitzman, 1994; Olds, Henderson, Kitzman, & Cole, 1995; Olds et al., 1997; Seitz & Apfel, 1993, 1994). These studies indicate that increasing social supports and mastery of life tasks needed for the role of motherhood are most important to adolescent mothers. Problem-solving, active coping, educational achievement, and parenting skills have been identified by numerous researchers as vital to adolescent mothers for parenting and independent living (de Anda et al. …