Psychosocial factors that affect adolescent mothering

Forty-two nulliparous adolescent women attending the Adolescent Pregnancy Clinic at King Edward Memorial Hospital between November 1996 and July 1997 consented to participate in this study designed to examine parenting stress. Mothers were interviewed four to ten months after their babys birth, at which time only 26 of the 42 recruited could be found. The Parenting Stress Index and Maternal Social Support Index were administered to each participant in her own home and use of community and health resources noted. Nine of the 26 respondents recorded dangerously high stress scores; the remaining 17 were in the normal range. The main source of stress for the whole group appeared to be the relationship with the father of their child. Overall the respondents had a high level of family support, but few used community support networks. The research pointed to the vulnerability of adolescent mothers and the need for an intervention program spanning the first 12 months post-delivery to consolidate the support services established in the Antenatal clinic.