Situational, maternal, and infant influences on parenting stress among adolescent mothers

This longitudinal study compared infant care competence, infant temperament, and parenting stress of younger (less than 17 years) and older (greater than or equal to 17 years) adolescent mothers. Relationships were examined between situational, maternal infant care competence, and infant temperament. Staged multiple regression was used to quantify the role of various situational, maternal, and infant characteristics as predictors of parenting stress. A convenience sample of 78 adolescent mothers was recruited from two major teaching hospitals in Winnipeg, Canada. No significant age group differences were found for infant care competence or parenting stress. However, younger adolescent mothers reported more difficult infant temperament, t = 2.24, p =.03. A significant Pearson correlation was found between the Mom&Baby subscale of the Infant Care Questionnaire (ICQ) and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) subscale, Relationship with Spouse, r =.59, p =.01. The Emotionality subscale of the ICQ was significantly associated with both the PSI subscales of Depression, r =.52, p =.006, and Relationship with Spouse, r =.50, p =.02. A second-stage multiple regression model that included situational (social support), infant (difficult temperament), and maternal (emotionality) variables significantly explained both total parent stress domain scores, R2 =.46, p =.04, and the depression subscale, R2 =.66, p =.000. While the study findings suggest that situational, infant temperament, and infant care competence variables together predict parenting stress, confirmation of study findings with larger and more diverse samples is required. The finding that difficult temperament and enacted social support were the most salient predictors of parenting stress underscores the need for nurses to evaluate these parenting factors.