Trajectories of Problem Behavior among Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers

Engagement in problem behaviors during adolescence has important implications for academic achievement and psychosocial well-being. The current study examined engagement in problem behavior across the transition from pregnancy to parenthood among a sample of 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (ages 15-18 years; Mage = 16.8 at Time 1) to better understand the behaviors in which this sample engaged and how engagement changed over this period of transition. Descriptively, this sample engaged in relatively low levels of problem behaviors. Frequently endorsed problem behaviors included missing school or work without an excuse, lying or disobeying parents, and engagement in dangerous behaviors for a thrill; notably, substance use was not a frequently endorsed behavior until the final waves of the study, when most of the mothers were of legal age for these behaviors. Further, latent growth curve modeling revealed a non-linear pattern of change in problem behaviors, such that engagement decreased substantially from the third trimester of pregnancy to 36 months postpartum, but then leveled off between 36 and 48 months postpartum. Findings suggest a need for future research to better understand how engagement in problem behaviors changes pre- to post-pregnancy, and how to best support the decrease in problem behaviors once a pregnancy has been detected.