Evaluation of a teen parent program designed to reduce child abuse and neglect and to strengthen families

Primary prevention of child physical abuse and neglect: gaps and promising directions

Reviews on primary prevention have identified effective strategies to prevent child maltreatment but have ignored potentially promising interventions that have not yet been evaluated as well as gaps in the development of programs. The goal of this review was to identify these gaps and recommend future directions for developing interventions from a public health perspective. To this end, a systematic review of the literature for 1980-2004 utilizing existing databases and found 188 primary prevention interventions that addressed a broad range of risk factors was conducted. However, few had been rigorously evaluated, and only a handful demonstrated impact on child maltreatment or its risk factors. From a public health perspective, interventions that target prevalent and neglected risk factors such as poverty, partner violence, teenage pregnancy, and social norms tolerating violence toward children need to be developed and evaluated. In addition, more attention should be given to low cost interventions delivered to the public, by society, or that require minimal effort from recipients.

Negotiating motherhood: the struggles of teenage mothers

AIMS

This article presents the results of an ethnographic study exploring how teenagers negotiated motherhood. The main aims of the study were to explore how the young women negotiated motherhood and how they constructed their own identities and relationships through teenage parenting.

BACKGROUND

Approximately 10% of all births occur to teenage mothers worldwide. This phenomenon is of concern because teenage mothers are reported to be disadvantaged financially, educationally, and cognitively in both the short and long term. Many teenage mothers find strength and fulfillment in their motherhood role but this does not come without cost to themselves or their children, as many teenagers are considered unsuitable to be parents and do not have adequate support.

DESIGN

This interpretive study incorporated ethnographic practices and was guided by feminist principles. After ethical approval from the university, data was collected over a 12-month period from five homeless Australian sole-supporting teenage mothers. Methods used included observation, interviews, field notes, journalling, and discussions with key informants.

FINDINGS

The five participants described stories of disrupted lives, unhappiness in childhood, turmoil during adolescence and a need to find love and connection in their lives. Analysis of the data revealed four major themes; transforming lives and opportunities for change, accommodating the challenges, tolerating the abandonment of supports and living publicly examined lives.

CONCLUSIONS

It was concluded that becoming a sole-supporting mother during the teenage years was a difficult struggle for the young women, because of their youth, their lack of preparation for motherhood and their reliance on welfare supports. In addition, they experienced negative public attitudes directed towards them wherever they went, and this included their visits to community child health centres. Recommendations are made for nurses to take a different approach when working with teenage mothers to help ameliorate the negative impact of poor parenting.

Adolescent parenting: outcomes and maternal perceptions

OBJECTIVE

To describe selected outcomes and maternal perceptions of adolescent parenting.

DESIGN

Qualitative and quantitative methods, interview, and two standardized instruments were combined in this follow-up study of adolescents who received perinatal services between 1985 and 1988.

SETTING

Data were collected in the mothers' homes.

PARTICIPANTS

Mothers who were randomly selected for an earlier chart outcome audit (N = 98) and could be located (n = 19).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Subsequent pregnancies; school completion; children's development, indicated by the Developmental Profile II (DPII); parental attitudes, indicated by the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI); and maternal perceptions.

RESULTS

Responses revealed irregular use of contraceptives as one reason for the initial pregnancy and for subsequent unplanned pregnancies. Sixteen mothers completed high school, and 18 intend to complete postsecondary programs. The DPII indicated age-appropriate development of the children. AAPI scores for 84% of the mothers indicated nonnurturing attitudes. Mothers described family support, motherhood, and their children.

CONCLUSIONS

Research is needed with larger samples and to test interventions to promote regular use of contraception. Findings support the need for research-based programs to educate and promote the development of adolescent mothers and their children.

The Parent-Baby Venture Program: prevention of child abuse

TOPIC

The overwhelming obstacles adolescents face to successful achievement of the maternal role.

PURPOSE

To describe an innovative, community-based program to support high risk adolescents during the early postpartum period.

SOURCE

A review of the literature related to programs designed to promote maternal-role attainment and prevent child abuse/neglect.

CONCLUSION

Interviews with participants indicate a positive response to the intervention but regression to maladaptive behavior in some following termination.

Risk factors for dropping out of a parenting education program

This study compared those who completed a clinic-based parenting program to dropouts in an attempt to identify risk factors for parents not completing the program. The program, aimed at mothers at risk for child maltreatment, was offered at three Seattle, Washington health centers providing comprehensive pediatric care to low-income families. We obtained baseline information from an intake questionnaire, the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS), and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME). Of the 172 enrollees, 124 (72%) completed the program. Univariate analyses showed that dropouts were more likely to be located at Clinic Site Three (42% vs. 10%, p < .001), teenaged (44% vs. 23%, p = .010), and African-American (56% vs. 32%, p = .010), and to have HOME scores less than 32 (57% vs. 33%, p = .023). There were no statistically significant differences between those who dropped out and those who didn't in marital status, education, referral rate to Child Protective Services prior to the start of parenting classes, or NCATS scores. Multivariate analyses showed that age less than 20 was significantly associated with dropping out when race and HOME scores were taken into account. There was significant interaction between age less than 20 and Clinic Site Three. These data suggest that program planners need to develop appropriate strategies to retain teenage mothers in parenting programs.