Teenagers and the mothering experience.

PURPOSE

To determine the relationship between maternal age, perceived social support, and home environment to mother-child interaction.

METHOD

Thirty-three adolescent mother-child pairs and 33 older mother-child pairs were randomly selected from a pool of 63 adolescent mothers and 111 older mothers. The Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS), the Personal Resource Questionnaire (PRQ), and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) were completed during a scheduled home visit. One way ANOVA and Multiple Correlation were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Mother's sensitivity to cues and social-emotional growth-fostering from the NCAFS favored older mothers. Avoidance of restriction and punishment from the HOME favored older mothers. There was a significant relationship between perceived social support and mother-child interaction for both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal behavior was related to mother's age. A mother's perception of the adequacy of her social support resources may be a critical factor in how she interacts with her child.