Effects of nursing intervention on adolescents' maternal role attainment

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a nursing intervention program on affective and behavioral dimensions of maternal role attainment. The sample comprised 20 primiparous adolescents, ages 12-19 years, from predominantly black and Hispanic backgrounds. Adolescents were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. Participants in the experimental group received an intervention that included four 1 1/2 hour classes held at weekly intervals, selected maternal-fetal interactive activities, recording of fetal movements, and maintaining of maternal diaries. Five instruments were used in the study: Cranley's Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS); the two Semantic Differentials, Myself as Mother and My Baby; the Pharis Self-Confidence Scale; and the Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Adolescents receiving intervention demonstrated a significant increase in prenatal attachment (MFAS scores) but showed no differences in actual mothering behaviors (NCAFS scores) as compared with adolescents in the comparison group. Although significant correlations existed among the affective measures, they were not significantly related to the measures of mothering behaviors. These results suggest that the intervention program was primarily beneficial to adolescents' achievement of the maternal role through enhancement of maternal-fetal attachment. The data also raise questions about theoretical assumptions concerning the relationship between affective and behavioral components of mothering.