This study examined the cross-generational influence of adolescent parenthood on psychosocial functioning with a random sample of adolescent mothers in state substitute care due to child abuse or neglect in their family of origin. Participants reported if their main parenting figure was an adolescent parent or not, their educational attainment, and their level of parenting stress. Participants whose main parenting figure was an adolescent parent reported significantly higher parenting stress and lower educational attainment than participants whose main parenting figure was not an adolescent parent. The two groups of adolescent mothers did not differ in their childbearing history or past substitute care experience. These findings highlight the need for research and interventions to address cross-generational influences on educational and parenting difficulties among teenage mothers in substitute care.
Barbour, N.E., Richardson, R.A., & Bubenzer, D.L. (1995, March/April). Adolescent mothers and parenting stress: Comparisons with normative and later age mothers. Paper presented at the Biennial Society for Research in Child Development Meeting, Indianapolis, IN.
3.
Barth, R.P. (1990). On their own: The experiences of youth after foster care. Child and Adolescent Social Work, 7, 419-440.
4.
Brooks-Gunn, J., & Chase-Lansdale, P.L. (1995). Adolescent parenthood. In M.H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (Vol. 3): Status and social conditions of parenting. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
5.
Brooks-Gunn, J., & Furstenberg, F.F. (1986). The children of adolescent mothers: Physical, academic, and psychological outcomes. Developmental Review, 6, 224-251.
6.
Budd, K. (1997). Psychosocial assessment and follow-up of teenage parents—Year 5: A report to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Unpublished manuscript.
7.
Budd, K.S., Heilman, N.E., & Kane, D. (2000). Psychosocial correlates of child abuse potential in multiply disadvantaged adolescent mothers. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 611-625.
8.
Card, J.J., & Wise, L.L. (1981). Teenage mothers and teenage fathers: The impact of early child-bearing on the parents’ personal and professional lives. In F.F. Furstenberg, Jr., R. Lincoln, & J. Menken (Eds.), Teenage sexuality, pregnancy and childbearing (pp. 211-222). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
9.
Caspi, A., & Elder, G.H. (1988). Emergent family patterns: The intergenerational construction of problem behaviour and relationships. In R.A. Hinde & J. Stevenson-Hinde (Eds.), Relationships within families: Mutual influences. Oxford, UK: Clarendon.
10.
Cooley, M.L., & Unger, D.G. (1991). The role of family support in determining developmental outcomes in children of teen mothers. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 21, 217-234.
11.
Elder, G.H., Jr., Caspi, A., & Downey, G. (1986). Problem behavior and family relationships: Life course and intergenerational themes. In A.B. Sorenson, F.E. Weinert, & L.R. Sherrod (Eds.), Human development and the life course: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 293-340). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
12.
Furstenberg, F.F., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Morgan, P. (1987). Adolescent mothers in later life. New York: Cambridge University Press.
13.
Furstenberg, F.F. (1991). As the pendulums swings: Teenage childbearing and social concern. Family Relations, 40, 127-138.
14.
HoganBruen, K.D. (1996). An evaluation of the social support networks of teen mothers in substitute care. Unpublished master’s thesis, DePaul University, Chicago.
15.
Holdsworth, M.J. (1994). Psychosocial assessment of teen mothers: A follow-up study. Unpublished master’s thesis, DePaul University, Chicago.
16.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. (1996). Policy transmittal 96.19, Procedures 302, services delivered by the department, Appendix J, pregnant and/or parenting program. Springfield: Author.
17.
Kelly, A.O. (1997). Psychosocial variables associated with subsequent childbirths in teen parent wards. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, DePaul University, Chicago.
18.
McDonald, T.P., Allen, R.I., Westerfelt, A., & Piliavin, I. (1996). Assessing the long-term effects of foster care: A research synthesis. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, Inc.
19.
Oyserman, D., Radin, N., & Benn, R. (1993). Dynamics in a three-generational family: Teens, grandparents, and babies. Developmental Psychology, 29, 564-572.
20.
Passino, A.W., Whitman, T.L., Brokowski, J.G., Schellenbach, C.J., Maxwell, S.E., Keogh, D., et al. (1993). Personal adjustment during pregnancy and adolescent parenting. Adolescence, 28, 97-122.
21.
Putallaz, M., Costanzo, P.R., Grimes, C.L., & Sherman, D.M. (1998). Intergenerational continuities and their influences on children’s social development. Social Development, 7, 389-423.
22.
Quinton, D., Rutter, M., & Liddle, C. (1985). Institutional rearing, parenting difficulties, and marital support. In S. Chess & A. Thomas (Eds.), Annual progress in child psychiatry and child development (pp. 173-206). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
23.
Radin, N., Oyserman, D., & Benn, R. (1991). Grandfathers, teen mothers, and children under 2. In P.K. Smith (Ed.), The psychology of grandparenthood: An international perspective (pp. 85-99). London: Routledge.
24.
Simons, R.L., Whitbeck, L.B., Conger, R.D., & Chy-In, W. (1991). Intergenerational transmission of harsh parenting. Developmental Psychology, 27, 159-171.
25.
Sommer, K., Whitman, T.L., Borkowski, J.G., Schellenbach, C., Maxwell, S., & Keogh, D. (1993). Cognitive readiness in adolescent parenting. Developmental Psychology, 29, 389-398.
26.
Stevens, J.H. (1984). Black grandmothers’ and Black adolescent mothers’ knowledge about parenting. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1017-1025.
27.
Stier, D.M., Leventhal, J.M., Berg, A.T., Johnson, L., & Mezger, J. (1993). Are children born to young mothers at increased risk of maltreatment?Pediatrics, 91, 642-648.
28.
Stockman, K.D., & Budd, K.S. (1997). Directions for intervention with adolescent mothers in substitute care. Families in Society, 78, 617-623.
29.
Voran, M., & Phillips, D. (1993). Correlates of grandmother childcare support to adolescent mothers: Implications for development in two generations of women. Children and Youth Services Review, 13, 321-334.
30.
Willard, C.W. (1991). Black teenage mothers: Pregnancy and childbearing from their perspective. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
31.
Wolkind, S.N. (1977). Women who have been “in care”—Psychological and social status during pregnancy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 18, 179-182.
