University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
J Fam Psychol. 2010 Feb;24(1):31-40. doi: 10.1037/a0018075.
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.
福利改革的目标是促进低收入女性结婚。本研究探讨了 181 名城市、低收入、非裔美国青少年母亲及其母亲的婚姻期望和婚姻模式。使用 PROC TRAJ 分析了青少年母亲与祖母关系质量在 24 个月内的发展轨迹，我们将关系分为高支持或低支持两类。我们研究了代际婚姻模式和青少年母亲与祖母关系质量对产后头 7 年婚姻期望和婚姻的影响。在 24 个月时，一半（52%）的青少年母亲期望结婚，但婚姻期望并不能预测婚姻。婚姻期望与同期参与浪漫关系有关，而与代际婚姻模式或支持性的青少年母亲与祖母关系无关。7 年后，14%的青少年母亲结婚。已婚母亲生活在代际婚姻模式和支持性青少年母亲与祖母关系共同作用的家庭中。她们比单身母亲年龄更大，孩子也更多，这表明她们正处于家庭组建阶段。需要制定促进教育和就业机会的政策，以支持家庭。
