Citation

Stevens-Simon C, Barrett J. J. Pediatr. Health Care 2001; 15(6): 299-303.

Affiliation

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, The Children's Hospital, 1056 East 19th Street, Denver, CO 80208.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1067/mph.2001.114385

PMID

11717686

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to compare the psychological resources of pregnant teenagers who are at low and high risk for mistreating their children. METHOD: We studied 71 participants in a comprehensive, adolescent-oriented maternity program. During the prenatal period, the Family Stress Checklist was used to quantify child abuse potential, with scores > or =25 defining high risk. Information about the social context of the pregnancy and maternal psychological resources was obtained with self-administered questionnaires. A composite psychological resource variable was computed by summing the z scores for intelligence, mental health, and mastery, with scores < or =0 defining the low-resource group. RESULTS: Of the 71 teenagers, 26 (36.6%) were classified as high risk for child abuse and neglect. Compared with low-risk teens, high-risk teens had more behavioral problems, lower psychological resource scores (mean +/- SD of z score: -0.98 +/- 2.02 compared with 0.39 +/- 1.79; P =.004), and were more likely to have low psychological resources (69.2% compared with 44.4%; P =.04). CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant teenagers who are at risk for child abuse and neglect exhibit fewer psychological resources than their low-risk peers do, and may therefore benefit preferentially from intensive, in-home intervention.

Language: en