Maternal psychological state and infant development with mothers under twenty: a research note

Data were used from a longitudinal study of mothers under 20 and their firstborn children to investigate some factors possibly associated with the developmental progress of the children at 21 mths of age. Developmental progress was considered as a function of whether other adults lived with the mother and child, whether it was a dual parent household, maternal age, aspects of maternal psychological state, child gender and cooperation. Child gender and cooperation and the woman's satisfaction with motherhood were related to children's developmental progress. Possible reasons for the observed interrelationships are discussed.