African American Adolescent Mothers Research Articles

African American Adolescent Mothers' Childbirth Support From Fathers, Grandmothers, Nurses, Doctors, and Doulas.

The morning after giving birth in a large urban hospital, 121 African American adolescents participating in a community doula program identified the people who had been with them during labor and birth and narrated their birth stories. Besides medical providers, the people most likely to be present for the birth were the infants' fathers (n = 73, 60%), the mothers' mothers (n = 70, 58%), and their doulas (n = 100, 83%). Birth stories were coded to identify types of support provided by different people. Mothers' mothers, infants' fathers, and doulas were more likely to be mentioned in the stories as providers of emotional and instrumental support than were medical providers. Doulas were more likely to be mentioned as providers of information than were family members or medical providers.

Making meaning of motherhood: Self and life transitions among African American adolescent mothers.

Although adolescent childbearing is widely viewed as a major social problem, and research suggests that young mothers and their children are at risk for poor economic and academic outcomes, these ideas may be in need of revision. Recent scholarship has pointed out that young mothers have been unfairly blamed and stigmatized for problems that should be attributed to social and economic inequality, racism, and poverty. The present study extends that research by listening to the voices of young mothers. In total, 179 urban African American women were asked at 4, 12, and 24 months after giving birth to describe how their lives had changed since becoming a mother. A team of coders content coded themes with rigorous checks for intercoder reliability. Positive themes were far more prevalent than negative themes. Motherhood was often described as a positive developmental change, providing the young women with a sense of maturity, responsibility, motivation, and commitment to placing the baby's needs ahead of their own. Motherhood was sometimes described as a life-turning point whereby young women turned away from undesirable activities and became focused on school, work, and their family's future. Challenges reflected common stresses of parenting for people of all ages, such as lack of sleep and burden of caregiving, but also limited time to socialize with friends. Findings suggest that although policymakers and professionals view adolescent parenthood as a social ill to be eradicated, for the mothers themselves, the experience is more complex, meaningful, and positive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Studying the Racial and Ethnicity Effects on Breastfeeding for Adolescent Mothers: Healthcare Policy Implications

According to the American Association of Pediatrics on the racial and ethnic differences of breastfeeding adolescent mother’s show that a total of 696 Latino, African and Caucasian adolescent mothers under the age of 18 were studied. The study highlighted the factors that influence adolescent mothers to breastfeed. These results were reported that majority of the Mexican American mothers were likely to breastfeed. The decision to breastfeed stated 55% of MexicanAmerican, 45% of Caucasian, and 15% of African-American adolescent mothers did in fact breastfeed. With the exception of perceived benefits of breastfeeding and exposure to educational materials, most factors associated with breastfeeding differed by race/ethnicity. Among Mexican-Americans, important factors included feeding advice. The feeding preference of a partner or mother and feeding decisions were made in early pregnancy. Among African-Americans, important factors included living with a partner, having a mother who breastfed. The feeding preference of a partner or health care provider and low family support was a factor. Among Caucasians, health care providers' feeding preference having two or more breastfeeding role models not being enrolled in Women, Infants, and Children's Supplemental Nutrition Program having relied on infant-feeding advice was associated with the decision to breastfeed. The purpose of this study is to focus on racial and ethnic differences when it comes to breastfeeding. As adolescent mothers, women have to decide what best is for their children. Therefore, it is important to have information available to best help them decide despite cultural biases. Specific members of the adolescent’s support systems that were identified in this study as important to her feeding decision. Medical and Social Groups must focus on the benefits of breastfeeding and being able to address concerns and refute fallacies common to young mothers specific to each racial/ethnic group. Also identified is the need to incorporate plenty of educational reading materials. Finally, a special effort must be made to overcome biases in the health care system by training health care professionals to encourage breastfeeding among all adolescent mothers, including African-Americans. Remain adhere of involvements could target both the adolescent mother and her support system.

African American and Latina Adolescent Mothers’ and their Children’s Fathers’ Reports of Coparenting and Child Behavior Problems: Child Gender as a Moderator

Coparenting, the way that parents work together in their roles to parent children, has emerged as an important area for prevention and intervention. Though research indicates that low coparenting quality is associated with increased externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in children, the existing literature is not inclusive of families diverse in sociocultural identity and structure. We examined the link between coparenting and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and tested the moderating effect of child gender on the relationship between coparenting and child behavior problems in two-year-old children of African American and Latina adolescent mothers. One hundred and thirty five parents (69 mothers and 66 fathers) completed self-report measures of coparenting and child behavior problems when their children were two years old. While we did not find support for a direct association between coparenting quality and child behavior problems, child gender did moderate the association between mother’s report of coparenting quality and both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. High coparenting quality was associated with lower levels of externalizing behavior problems in girls and higher levels of externalizing behavior problems in boys. High quality coparenting was associated with lower levels of internalizing behavior problems in girls, but there was no difference for boys. Though the results for boys were mixed, our findings for girls suggest that high quality coparenting may be a protective factor for the development of both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Implications for future research are discussed.

Partner Support and Grandparent Support as Predictors of Change in Coparenting Quality

Young ethnic minority parents may lack psychological and financial resources to handle parenthood, increasing the risk of negative psychosocial and parenting outcomes. Partner support has been associated with positive coparenting, although findings have been mixed. Support from young parents' own parents ("grandparents") has been linked to adaptive family outcomes and may be particularly protective for African American and Latino parents whose cultures espouse interdependence. This study examined partner support and grandparent support as individual predictors of change in coparenting quality, and tested whether grandparent support moderated the relationship between partner support and change in coaprenting quality over the first postpartum year. Participants were 136 African American and Latina adolescent mothers (age range=15-21 years) and their babies' fathers (15-41 years). Partner and grandparent support were measured at 6 months postpartum. Coparenting quality was measured at 6 and 12 months postpartum, and change in coparenting quality was measured using latent change scores. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that the relationship between partner support and change in coparenting quality would be moderated by grandparent support. Fit indices indicated a well-fitted model. Results demonstrated that the moderator term (partner support × grandparent support) significantly predicted change in coparenting quality. Specifically, partner support was positively associated with changes in coparenting quality when grandparent support was high; however, that association became weaker and changed direction for lower levels of grandparent support. Findings highlight the need to assess parents' social support networks and grandparents' impact on the coparenting quality of this at-risk population.

Early maternal depressive symptom trajectories: Associations with 7-year maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior.

This study examines potential mechanisms linking maternal depressive symptoms over 2 years postpartum with child behavior problems at school-age in a sample of adolescent mothers and their first-born child. Potential mechanisms include: mother-reported caregiving engagement at 6 months; observed parental nurturance and control, and child competence and affect at 24 months; and mother-reported resilience at 7 years based on achievement of adult developmental tasks. One hundred eighteen low-income African American adolescent mothers were recruited at delivery and followed through child age 7 years. Maternal depressive symptom trajectories over 24 months were estimated (low, medium, and high) based on mother-reported depressive symptoms. Direct and indirect associations between depressive symptom trajectories with 7-year maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems were examined. The high maternal depressive symptom trajectory was associated with 7-year maternal depressive symptoms (b = 5.52, SE = 1.65, p < .01) and child internalizing problems (b = 7.60, SE = 3.12, p = .02) and externalizing problems (b = 6.23, SE = 3.22, p = .05). Caregiving engagement among high depressive symptom trajectory mothers was significantly associated with observed child affect (b = -0.21, SE = 0.11, p = 0.05). Parental nurturance in toddlerhood mediated the association between high maternal depressive symptom trajectory and child internalizing problems at 7 years (indirect effect b = 2.33, 95% CI: 0.32-5.88). Findings suggest that family based interventions to promote parenting and adolescent resiliency strengthening may be beneficial in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record

Social Support, Parenting Competence, and Parenting Satisfaction Among Adolescent, African American, Mothers.

This secondary analysis explored how social support changed during the first 6 months postpartum and examined the relationships among social support, parenting competence, and parenting role satisfaction. Single, low-income, adolescent, new mothers ( N = 34) completed measures of perceived parenting competence, parenting role satisfaction, and four types of received social support (emotional, informational, tangible, problematic) from the entire social network at 1 week, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum. Results indicated that social support did not change over time. Emotional, informational, and tangible social support were significantly correlated, concurrently and predictively, with perceived competence and satisfaction at most data collection points. Future social support intervention studies using social support as a modifiable variable with this high-risk group of African American adolescent new mothers are advocated. Health care professionals are encouraged to examine existing social support within these mothers' identified family units.

Cultural Meanings of Mothering Through the Eyes of African American Adolescent Mothers.

The life-course perspective considers the effects of chronic, high levels of stress as contributing to the disparity in infant mortality between African Americans and all other groups. Many young mothers are mothering their children in isolation without benefit of the cultural safety net that once existed, further contributing to a state of chronic stress. This study explored the cultural meanings of mothering for African American adolescent mothers using Photovoice, a participatory research methodology. Results suggested a network consisting of extended kin and "other mothers" is integral in providing support and identifying cultural strengths used in coping and reducing effects of chronic stress.

Does Neighborhood Risk Explain Racial Disparities in Low Birth Weight among Infants Born to Adolescent Mothers?

Study ObjectiveTo test associations and interactions between racial identification, neighborhood risk, and low birth weight disparities between infants born to African-American and white adolescent mothers. DesignRetrospective cross-sectional study. Birth cases were geocoded and linked to census tract information from the 2010 US Census and the 2007-2011 American Community Survey. A “neighborhood risk” index was created using principal component analysis, and mothers were grouped into 3 neighborhood risk levels (low, medium, high). Multilevel models with cross-level interactions were used to identify variation in racial differences in low birth weight outcomes across neighborhood risk levels when controlling for maternal demographic characteristics and pregnancy behaviors (smoking, prenatal care use). SettingNorth Carolina, United States. ParticipantsSingleton infants (n = 7923 cases) born to non-Hispanic African American and white adolescent mothers from the North Carolina State Center of Health Statistics for 2011. Main Outcome MeasuresLow birth weight. ResultsAfrican American mothers were significantly more likely to have infants of low birth weight than white mothers in this sample (odds ratio = 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.53-2.34). Mothers that resided in areas of high neighborhood risk were significantly more likely to have infants of low birth weight than mothers residing in areas of low neighborhood risk (odds ratio = 1.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.93). Even when controlling for confounding factors, racial disparities in low birth weight odds did not significantly vary according to neighborhood risk level. ConclusionRacial disparities can remain in low birth weight odds among infants born to adolescent mothers when controlling for maternal characteristics, pregnancy behaviors, and neighborhood risk.

The Voice of Low-Income Adolescent Mothers on Infant Feeding

Adolescent mothers' feeding practices impact infant weight gain. Infant obesity, especially in low-income families, is rapidly increasing. The aim of the exploratory study reported here was to identify factors affecting low-income African American and non-Hispanic White adolescent mothers' infant feeding practices and useful learning modalities. Two focus groups were conducted by a trained facilitator using a semi-structured topic guide. Three themes emerged: (1) feeding decisions related to introduction of solid foods; (2) feeding information/advice provided by others; and (3) useful learning strategies. These themes can be used by Extension professionals in designing nutrition education programs for adolescent mothers.

Parenting Stress, Social Support, and Depression for Ethnic Minority Adolescent Mothers: Impact on Child Development.

Rates of teenage pregnancies are higher for African American and Latina adolescents compared to their White peers. African American and Latina adolescent mothers also experience more adversities than their White peers, such as higher rates of depression, school dropout, and economic disadvantage. Furthermore, children of adolescent mothers are at higher risk for adverse development. Parenting stress and social support can impact outcomes experienced by adolescent parents and their children. The present study examined the influence of adolescent mothers' parenting stress and perceived social support on maternal depression at baseline (six months after birth), and its impact on infant development one year later (18 months after birth). Participants were 180 adolescent mothers of African American or Latino/Hispanic descent. Results suggest that higher levels of parenting stress and less perceived social support were associated with higher levels of depression in the adolescent mothers at baseline. Higher levels of maternal depression were also associated with more developmental delays in infants one year post-baseline. Additionally, depression mediated the relationship between parenting stress and later child outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of examining parenting factors such as parenting stress, social support, and maternal depression in ethnic minority adolescent parents, and provide valuable information regarding unique risk and protective factors associated with positive maternal outcomes for ethnic minority adolescent parents and healthy development for their children.

Partner Roles in Contraceptive Use: What Do Adolescent Mothers Say?

Study ObjectiveTo examine the role of sexual partners in adolescent mothers' use of non-coital dependent contraceptive methods in the postpartum period. Design/Setting/Participants40 African American adolescent mothers completed surveys and qualitative interviews during the first postpartum year as part of a larger longitudinal study in Chicago, Illinois. Themes related to contraception and sexual partners were analyzed. Main Outcome MeasuresAdolescent mothers' reports of partners' roles in the use of non-coital dependent contraceptive methods (i.e., oral contraceptives, intrauterine contraception, and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate). ResultsPartners largely supported the use of non-coital dependent contraceptive methods, yet mechanisms of support varied greatly, from advocating for specific methods to facilitating participants' continuation of their chosen method. Unsupportive partners either expressed concerns about the safety and side effects of specific methods or desired another child in the near future. Participants valued these preferences to different degrees when making their contraceptive decisions. ConclusionsPartners of adolescent mothers play varying roles in postpartum contraceptive decisions. They thus have the potential both to inhibit and to facilitate the use of non-coital dependent contraception. Quantitative research is needed to further evaluate how partner attitudes and support behaviors, among other factors, affect contraceptive initiation and continuation among adolescent mothers.

The good, the bad, and the ambivalent: Quality of alliance in a support program for young mothers.

The relationship that develops between early childhood service providers and parents is seen as a critical component in program implementation, although little is known about how service providers and parents view this relationship. The current qualitative study examines the helping relationship between doulas and 12 African American adolescent mothers who participated in a larger study of prenatal and postnatal support. Mothers and their doulas were interviewed separately at the beginning and the end of program participation about the quality of the helping relationship and how they spent their time together. Content analysis revealed positive, negative, and ambivalent themes in mothers' and doulas' descriptions of their relationships, although the majority of the relationships were considered positive. For the most part, doulas and mothers agreed on the quality of the relationship that they formed with each other. Mothers were more likely to note the enjoyable aspects of spending time with their doula while doulas focused more on issues of trust and acceptance. The young mothers and doulas often considered amount of contact and availability (or lack thereof) as a sign of the quality of the relationship. Results are discussed in terms of the professional role of the doula and cultural influences in help-giving behavior.

African American Adolescent Mothers' Early Caregiving Involvement and Childrens' Behavior and Academic Performance at Age 7

The United States continues to have the highest incidence of adolescent births among industrialized nations. This study used transactional and life span theories of development to examine whether caregiving patterns assessed over the first 24 months postpartum predicted children's behavior and academic achievement at 7 years. Participants included 120 primiparous, urban, low-income, African American adolescent mothers who participated in a randomized controlled trial of home intervention. Group-based trajectories were used to examine the pattern of caregiving involvement over time. Two distinct, consistent trajectories of caregiving involvement were found: maternal and shared. Maternal caregiving involvement over the first 24 months postpartum predicted positive child behavior and academic achievement at 7 years. In keeping with both transactional and life span theories, findings suggest that adoption of the parent role may lead to positive long-term outcomes for children of adolescent mothers.

Parental Nurturance and the Mental Health and Parenting of Urban African American Adolescent Mothers

This study examined the relationship between a teen mother's perceptions of nurturance from her mother and father and her mental health and parenting attitudes. One-hundred and thirty-eight urban, primarily African American adolescent mothers were interviewed. Multivariate results indicate that teen mothers who felt nurtured by their mothers had greater empathy toward their own children, and those who felt nurtured by their fathers reported greater parenting satisfaction. These findings support the importance of interventions that include supporting nurturing parenting of adolescent mothers by their mothers and their fathers.

Adolescent mothers' relationships with their own mothers: Impact on parenting outcomes.

This study examined the relationship between mother-grandmother relationship quality and adolescent mothers' parenting behaviors using longitudinal multimethod, multi-informant data. Participants were 181 urban, African American adolescent mothers. Self-report data on mother-grandmother relationship conflict and depressive symptoms were collected after delivery and at 6-, 13-, and 24-month follow-up visits. Videotaped observations were used to measure mother-grandmother relationship quality at baseline. Mother-child interactions were videotaped at 6, 13, and 24 months to operationalize parenting. Mixed-model regression methods were used to investigate the relation between mother-grandmother relationships and mother-child interactions. Mother-grandmother relationship quality predicted both negative control and nurturing parenting. Mothers whose own mothers were more direct (both demanding and clear) and who reported low relationship conflict demonstrated low negative control in their parenting. Mothers who demonstrated high levels of individuation (a balance of autonomy and mutuality) and reported low relationship conflict showed high nurturing parenting. The implications of these findings for adolescent health and emotional development are discussed.

Natural Mentoring Relationships Among Adolescent Mothers: A Study of Resilience

This study focused on natural mentoring relationships between nonparental adults and African American adolescent mothers. Data were collected from 93 adolescent mothers over five time points, starting in the adolescent mothers' senior year of high school and ending five years post-high school. We found that having a natural mentor was related to fewer depressive symptoms and fewer anxiety symptoms over time. Natural mentor presence also modified the relationship between stress and mental health problems over time. Facilitating these natural mentoring relationships between adolescent mothers and nonparental adults may be a useful strategy for promoting healthy development within this population.

A seven-year investigation of marital expectations and marriage among urban, low-income, African American adolescent mothers.

Welfare reform has targeted marriage promotion among low-income women. This study explores patterns of marital expectations and marriage among 181 urban, low-income, African American adolescent mothers and their mothers. Using PROC TRAJ to analyze developmental trajectories of adolescent mother-grandmother relationship quality over 24 months, we categorized relationships as either high or low support. We examined the effects of intergenerational marriage models and adolescent mother-grandmother relationship quality on marital expectations and marriage over the first 7 years postpartum. At 24 months, half (52%) of adolescent mothers expected to marry, but marital expectations did not predict marriage. Marital expectations were associated with concurrent involvement in a romantic relationship, not intergenerational marriage models or a supportive adolescent mother-grandmother relationship. After 7 years, 14% of adolescent mothers were married. Married mothers lived in families characterized by the joint effects of intergenerational marriage models and supportive adolescent mother-grandmother relationships. They were older and had more children than did single mothers, suggesting that they were in a family formation phase of life. Policies that promote the education and employment opportunities necessary to support a family are needed.

Predictors of representational aggression in preschool children of low-income urban African American adolescent mothers.

Responses to five doll-story stems thematically related to attachment experiences with the mother were videotaped in the home and used to evaluate child, maternal, and environmental predictors of representational aggression in 93 preschool children of African American women receiving public assistance who had become pregnant as teenagers. Significant correlations were found between representational aggression and child's gender (male), birth weight, maternal depressive affect, maternal educational attainment, recent employment, mother's historical residence with her own mother, and felt social support, accounting for 40% of the variance in representational aggression. A significant Felt Social Support × Gender interaction effect suggested that girls of mothers who perceive higher levels of felt social support are more likely to represent less aggression in their stories; felt social support was not associated with boys' representational aggression. A significant Felt Social Support × Employment interaction effect suggested that representational aggression is associated with lower levels of felt social support only among employed mothers. Findings suggest that different pathways exist for representational aggression in children of low-income adolescent mothers, which nevertheless share predictors associated with poverty.

Depressive Symptoms and Birth Outcomes among Pregnant Teenagers

Study Objective Few studies have examined the effects of maternal depressive symptoms among adolescent women. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of depressive symptoms on birth outcomes of infants born to adolescent mothers. Design The medical records of pregnant adolescent patients were examined. Information about maternal depressive symptoms and birth outcomes was collected. Setting Data were collected at Washington Hospital Center, a nonprofit, community-based hospital that serves residents throughout the Washington, DC area. Participants Participants were 294 African-American and Latina adolescent mothers. Mean age was 16.2 years (standard deviation [SD] 1.4). Based on self-reports of depressive symptoms, adolescents were categorized by the following: no reported symptoms, depressive symptoms without SI/SA (suicidal ideation or attempt), and depressive symptoms with SI/SA. Main Outcome Measures Infant birth weight and gestational age at delivery. Results Over one-quarter of pregnant adolescents in this study reported symptoms of depression. Adolescents reporting depressive symptoms with SI/SA delivered babies that weighed 239.5 grams (98.3% confidence interval [CI] 3.9 to 475.1) less than babies born to mothers reporting depressive symptoms without SI/SA. There was no association between reported symptoms and gestational age. Conclusions Results suggest that compared to nonpregnant teens and adults, pregnant teens may have an increased risk for depression. Additionally, pregnant adolescents with suicidal ideation are at greater risk for delivering infants of lower birth weight compared with teens reporting depressive symptoms without SI/SA and teens reporting no symptoms. This study supports the need for early screening and treatment of depression for young pregnant women.