Extended Households and the Life Course of Young Mothers: Understanding the Associations Using a Sample of Mothers With Premature, Low Birth Weight Babies

Abstract

This paper examined whether the greater average schooling and employment, and lower parenting competence, of young mothers who reside with adult relatives reflect preexisting differences versus potential causal mechanisms. The sample included 554 young mothers (ages 13 to 25; nearly two thirds African American) from the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) a random-assignment intervention study of premature, low birth weight babies followed 8 times from birth to age 3. Ordinary least squares, fixed-effects, and random-effects models indicated that young mothers of low birth weight babies sorted into extended households based on preexisting characteristics that were correlated with their lower parenting skills and knowledge. In contrast, coresidence predicted greater schooling or employment across models, with some variations for different subgroups.

The influence of maternal and child characteristics and paternal support on interactions of mothers and their medically fragile infants

“…Thus, analyzing the statistical interactions among these factors and with time, which the developmental, ecological framework views as critical, allowed us to better understand their joint effects, how their effects differed over time, and how the main effects of these factors may not adequately capture their complex relationships with motherinfant interactions. Consistent with many previous findings (e.g., Feeley et al, 2005;Gavidia-Payne & Stoneman, 1997;Gordon et al, 2004;Holditch-Davis et al, 1999), the maternal characteristic of education level was significantly related to both maternal positive involvement and developmental stimulation. The effect of maternal education neither changed over time nor interacted with the severity of infants' health conditions.…”

“…Mothers with higher education exhibited more positive interactions with their medically fragile infants than mothers with less education . Studies of children with developmental disabilities and of non-chronically ill preterm infants have had similar findings: mothers with higher education provided more looking, more talking, more warmth, less use of negative control, and more frequent interactions than mothers with lower levels of education (Feeley, Gottlieb, & Zelkowitz, 2005;Gavidia-Payne & Stoneman, 1997;Gordon, Chase-Lansdale, & Brooks-Gunn, 2004). Although the effect of maternal education on mother-infant interaction was included in one study of medically fragile infants as well as in several studies of other groups of infants, the effect of maternal education over time and its interactions with other factors are unknown.…”

A Review of Childrearing in African American Single Mother Families: The Relevance of a Coparenting Framework

“…However, other individuals have been identified as providing childrearing assistance to teenage mothers as well, including paternal relatives, grandfathers, boyfriends, and friends (e.g., Gee & Rhodes, 2003;Davis, Rhodes, & Hamilton-Leaks, 1997). In general, a higher degree of childrearing assistance provided by these other adults and family members is associated with better outcomes for the teen mother (e.g., Gordon, Chase-Lansdale, & Brooks-Gunn, 2004;Voight, Hans, & Bernstein., 1998). These inconsistencies, however, seem to be accounted for, at least in part, by the quality of the teen mother's relationship with the individual assisting her with parenting.…”

Adolescent and adult low‐income mothers: How do needs and resources differ?

“…Moreover, some research has found that coresiding may have negative effects on parenting~Chase-Lansdale, Brooks-Gunn, & Zamsky, 1994;Spieker & Bensley, 1994;Unger & Cooley, 1992!. However, these findings should be considered with the acknowledgement that preexisting characteristics may be predictive of living arrangements~see Gordon et al, 2004!. Living situations of teen mothers tend to vary by ethnicity. African Americans are more likely than European Americans to reside with their family-of-origin after the birth of the child, whereas European American teens who become pregnant are more likely to marry.…”

“…Not surprisingly, younger teen mothers are more likely than are older teen mothers to remain in their parents' home~Cooley & Unger, 1991!. This living arrangement has been linked to improved educational and employment opportunities, as well as decreased welfare dependence, for young mothers~Furstenberg, 1976;Gordon, Chase-Lansdale, & Brooks-Gunn, 2004;Presser, 1980;Sandfort & Hill, 1996;Trent & Harlan, 1994 Kitzman, Olds, & Sidora, 1998!. Moreover, some research has found that coresiding may have negative effects on parenting~Chase-Lansdale, Brooks-Gunn, & Zamsky, 1994;Spieker & Bensley, 1994;Unger & Cooley, 1992!.…”