A conceptual model of families incorporating an adolescent mother and child into the household.

This study explores the normative course of family development in families incorporating a teenage mother and her child into the household during the infant's first year. An exploratory, factor-isolating design was used to generate this conceptual model. A developmental framework of family life cycle theory provides the conceptual orientation for the study. Qualitative family data were collected and analyzed according to the constant comparative method. Implications for research and theory development, particularly with regard to clinical practice, are identified.