Teenage parenting in different cultures, family constellations, and caregiving environments: Effects on infant development

Abstract

Teenage parenting was investigated in different ethnic groups (Cuban and American Black), family constellations (single‐parent, nuclear, and extended families), and primary caregiving arrangements (mother versus other). One hundred sixty‐four infants born to a representative sample of teenage mothers were observed during interactions with their mothers and were given developmental assessments when they were 12, 18, and 24 months of age. Being a Cuban mother, living in a nuclear family, and being a secondary caregiver were each associated independently with stronger social support systems and more positive child‐rearing attitudes and mother‐infant play interactions. Despite these early advantages, maternal stimulation and infant performance decreased over the second year of life irrespective of ethnic group, family constellation, and caregiving arrangements.

Adolescent mothers: Support needs, resources, and support-education interventions

“…Living in a nuclear family (adolescent mother and her husband/boyfriend) has been associated with stronger social support and more positive child-rearing attitudes and mother-infant play interactions [73]. Partner support has also been associated with greater responsiveness to infants and greater maternal satisfaction with life [66].…”

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

“…Five studies from the 1980s and 1990s, drawn primarily from birth records or prenatal clinics, found consistently lower parenting competence exhibited by teenage mothers living in extended households as compared with those living in other arrangements. Four of these studies used ratings of young mothers' parenting as displayed in videotaped interactions with children, including their disciplinary styles (Chase-Lansdale, Brooks-Gunn, & Zamsky, 1994), engagement (Chase-Lansdale et al, 1994;Field, Widmayer, Adler, & de Cubas, 1990), warmth (Black & Nitz, 1996), and teaching skills (Spieker & Bensley, 1994). East and Felice (1996) obtained similar results using maternal self-reports of parenting attitudes (empathy for child, value placed on physical punishment) and parenting confidence.…”

Factors Related to Parenting Behavior in a Sample of Adolescent Mothers With Two‐Year‐Old Children

“…In de Cubas and Field's study, black teenage mothers verbalized less with their infants during early teaching interactions than Cuban teenage mothers did, when maternal SES and education were held constant. In another study of teenage parenting (Field et at, 1990), black mothers had less favorable scores on measures of childrearing attitudes and mother-infant play interaction, including the HOME measure, and the effect of ethnicity was independent from family constellation (single-parent, nuclear, and extended families) and primary caregiving arrangement (mothers versus other) effects. In Rickel et al's study, black mothers were more restrictive than white mothers.…”