Prevalence, Course, and Predictors of Emotional Distress in Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents.

Abstract

This study examines trajectories and correlates of emotional distress symptoms in pregnant adolescents (n = 203) and nulliparous adolescents (n = 188) from economically disadvantaged communities over an 18-month period. For both groups, the prevalence of significant emotional distress exceeded expectation based on adolescent norms; however, the severity of symptoms did not differ between the 2 groups. Results from growth curve modeling revealed a significant decline in symptoms during the study period for both groups, but pregnant adolescents experienced a different pattern of decline. Also, certain interpersonal factors (e.g., history of physical maltreatment, partner support) appeared to play a more important role in the emotional well-being of pregnant and parenting adolescents relative to nulliparous adolescents. Implications for early identification and intervention are discussed.

Ecological Contexts in Adolescent Pregnancy: The Role of Individual, Sociodemographic, Familial and Relational Variables in Understanding Risk of Occurrence and Adjustment Patterns

“…However, recent research found no differences between the adjustment levels of these adolescents and those of their peers who had the same socioeconomic conditions (Milan et al 2004;Troutman and Cutrona 1990). Additionally, some studies reported nonclinical levels of emotional maladjustment (Sieger and Renk 2007) for pregnant adolescents, who in some cases presented better results when compared with their peers without a pregnancy history (Pires 2009), as well as similar results in relational adjustment (Araújo Pedrosa 2009).…”

“…Finally, regarding social factors, low socioeconomic levels (Jaffee et al 2001;Milan et al 2004) appear to be associated with poor socioemotional adjustment. However, the results of recent national and international investigations (Araújo Pedrosa 2009;Logsdon et al 2008;Van Horne et al 2009) grounded on the bioecological model of development (Bronfenbrenner and Ceci 1994) revealed that factors from multiple ecological levels interact and affect different areas of adolescents' adjustment after pregnancy, reinforcing the importance of theory-based research to capture the maximum variability in the dependent variables studied.…”

“…This is particularly true for the nuclear family, as it is the family system in which adolescent mothers typically live currently, even when cohabiting with a partner (Araújo Pedrosa 2009;Moore and Brooks-Gunn 2002). Several studies conclude that factors such as early familial experiences characterized by negativity or ambivalence (Sherman and Donovan 1991), low supervision, high rejection, and low emotional support from the mother in particular (Pires 2009), less social support (Bogat et al 1998;Milan et al 2004;Sieger and Renk 2007), and poor quality of current relationships (Milan et al 2004), particularly with the romantic partner and friends, influence the socioemotional adjustment of adolescents who become pregnant.…”

“…When considering adjustment to adolescent pregnancy, some authors mention that the patterns found result from a complex interplay of factors that predicted their entry into adolescent motherhood, as well as additional effects arising from being an adolescent mother (Milan et al 2004;Mollborn and Morningstar 2009;SmithBattle 2007). This suggests the utility of research efforts aimed at examining the risk factors involved in the etiology of adolescent pregnancy and, simultaneously, in their subsequent adjustment, using the same sample of participants.…”

Adolescent Parenting in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

“…Adolescent parents might experience significant emotional distress from issues such as perceived parenting criticism, inadequate partner support, intimate partner violence, and financial resource strain [24,47,48]. Such distress might impair the establishment of the parentechild relationships leading teen parents to have less confidence in their own parenting abilities and even less acceptance of their own children [49].…”