The Potential for Child Neglect: The Case of Adolescent Mothers and Their Children

Abstract

The present study examines the role of neglect potential in adolescent mother-child dyads, both in terms of antecedents and its consequences for children's development. Participants were 100 adolescent mother-child dyads who were part of a larger, longitudinal study. Data were collected from the third trimester of pregnancy until the children's 10th year. Histories of maternal neglect and the quality of mother-child interactions during early childhood were found to predict neglect potential during middle childhood. Mothers with high neglect potential had children who exhibited more externalizing problems and fewer adaptive behaviors, with neglect potential mediating the effects of both early abuse potential and the quality of parenting on children's later externalizing behaviors. Results suggest that neglect potential may be a mechanism through which early potential for child abuse and insensitive maternal interactions affect later externalizing problems in children of adolescent mothers.