Use of a resiliency framework to examine pregnancy and birth outcomes among adolescents: A qualitative study

Adolescent childbearing has been viewed as a social, political, and public health priority since the 1970s. Research has primarily focused on the negative consequences of teen pregnancy; less research has explored factors associated with healthy pregnancy and birth experiences in this population.

Using open-ended and qualitative techniques, researchers performed individual interviews with 15 adolescent mothers (15 to 19 years of age) recruited from a Women's and Children's Clinic in Southern Louisiana, who had experienced a healthy pregnancy and bore a full-term, normal birth weight infant. We used a resiliency framework to identify factors that may have supported positive health outcomes despite risks associated with low-income and/or marginalized minority status.

A total of 15 mothers of multiple racial/ethnic identities were included in the analysis. Mothers discussed potential protective factors that we classified as either assets (internal factors) or resources (external factors). Mothers demonstrated strong assets including self-efficacy and self-acceptance and important resources including familial support and partner support during pregnancy which may have contributed to their resiliency.

Ensuring access to social and structural supports as well as supporting adolescent-friendly health and social policies may be key to promoting healthy maternal and infant outcomes among young women who become pregnant. (PsycINFO Database Record