Way N, Leadbeater B J
Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Dev Psychopathol. 1999 Spring;11(2):349-64. doi: 10.1017/s0954579499002096.
Although a majority of adolescent mothers are graduating from high school, the processes that enhance the educational attainment of adolescent mothers are not well understood. With a sample of 93 African American and Puerto Rican adolescent mothers, we assessed the effects of material support from family (i.e., child care assistance from grandmother and residence with grandmother) and emotional support from family over and above pre- and postpregnancy risk factors (i.e., maternal age at first birth, delayed grade placement before pregnancy, ethnicity, depressive symptoms, stressful life events, and repeat pregnancy) during the first year postpartum on educational attainment at 6 years postpartum. Significant contributors to the explained variance in educational attainment included: delayed grade placement before pregnancy, maternal age at first birth, depressive symptoms, emotional support from family, and residence with grandmother. Unexpectedly, higher perceived emotional support from family and living with grandmother predicted lower educational attainment. Post hoc analysis of qualitative data suggested reasons for these latter findings and point to the need to reconceptualize and broaden the elements of social support that constitute protective factors for adolescent mothers.
尽管大多数青少年母亲都能从高中毕业,但促进青少年母亲提高教育程度的过程尚未得到充分理解。我们以93名非裔美国人和波多黎各青少年母亲为样本,评估了产后第一年家庭物质支持(即祖母提供的儿童保育援助以及与祖母同住)和家庭情感支持对产后6年教育程度的影响,这些影响超出了孕前和产后的风险因素(即首次生育时的母亲年龄、怀孕前的留级情况、种族、抑郁症状、压力性生活事件和再次怀孕)。教育程度差异的显著影响因素包括:怀孕前的留级情况、首次生育时的母亲年龄、抑郁症状、家庭情感支持以及与祖母同住。出乎意料的是,较高的家庭情感支持感和与祖母同住预示着较低的教育程度。对定性数据的事后分析揭示了这些结果的原因,并指出需要重新概念化和拓宽构成青少年母亲保护因素的社会支持要素。