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Supporting adolescent mothers and their children through a high school-based child care center and parent support
Lois S Sadler1, Martha K Swartz, Patricia Ryan-Krause
1Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT 06536-0740, USA. lois.sadler@yale.edu
Introduction:
A pilot study was conducted of adolescent parents and their children at a high school-based child care center to examine the influence of the program on parental competence, parent-child interaction, and child development.
Method:
A convenience sample of 18 urban adolescent mothers with children was interviewed at the end of one academic year. Mothers completed the Maternal Self Report Inventory (MSRI; short form) and the Parenting Daily Hassles Scale (PDHS). Parent-child teaching interactions were rated with the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS), and the Michigan Early Developmental Profile (MEDP) was used to evaluate child developmental outcomes.
Results:
Mothers reported positive scores on the MSRI and PDHS. NCATS observations indicated ratings significantly higher when compared (assuming unequal variances) with a group matched for age range and length of time in school of adolescent mothers from the Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training (NCAST) national database. The MEDP indicated that 77% of the children assessed were within normal limits for all domains (fine motor, cognition, language, gross motor, and self care).
Discussion:
The results of this pilot study indicate that adolescent mothers and their young children in the sample benefited from the educational and support services offered at a school-based child care and parent support program. Further study is indicated to test the strength and duration of the effects.