Perceived and performed infant care competence of younger and older adolescent mothers

The investigators examined differences in perceived and performed infant care competence for younger (less than 17 years of age) and older (17 to 19 years of age) adolescent mothers. Associations were tested between perceived infant care competence measured at several time points and performed mothering at 12 to 18 months infant age. A convenience sample of 78 adolescent mothers was recruited from two major teaching hospitals in Winnipeg, Canada. The Infant Care Questionnaire (ICQ), a self-report measure of infant care ability, was completed during the 3rd trimester and the 1st and 4th postnatal weeks. Performed mothering was assessed with Caldwell's HOME scale administered in the adolescent mother's home when the infant was 12 to 18 months old. Significant increases in competence perceptions over time were demonstrated for both ICQ subscales, the Mom&Baby, F(2, 47) = 22.73, p = 0.000, and Emotionality, F(2, 47) = 43.16, p = 0.000. This increase in infant care competence mirrors the maternal role competence trajectory reported in studies with older mothers. While no significant age group differences were found for Mom&Baby or Emotionality, older adolescent mothers were rated significantly higher on one of the HOME subscales, Variety in Daily Stimulation, t(n = 45), = 2.12, p =.04, and a second approached significance, Responsiveness, t(n = 45) = 1.86, p =.07. Pearson correlations between the Mom&Baby and Emotionality and the HOME subscales, Responsiveness and Environment, ranged between -0.30 and -0.37. Future research is required to further explain the negative correlations between perceived and performed infant care competence, establish clinical validity of self-report methods with adolescent mothers, and assess the influence of social, cultural, and economic factors not considered in this study.