To explore this issue, we used the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), a survey that followed more than 550 mothers and their low birthweight, premature babies from birth through age 3. We focused on mothers who were 13 to 25 when their children were born. The study measured school enrollment six times during the three-year period, and parenting skills twice, including whether young mothers knew the age at which children typically accomplished certain milestones, the rigidity of their parenting beliefs, and the level of warmth and learning stimulation in their interactions with their child.
We found that living at home helped teenage mothers stay in school during the first two years of their babies' lives but had little effect on their parenting. In contrast to our study, prior research had found that young mothers who lived at home were less skilled as parents.
Our findings suggest that this correlation may not reflect a true consequence of living at home. Rather, some characteristics of the young mothers (such as their maturity level) may have resulted in their staying home and their problems parenting their toddler. Thus, instead of being a causal factor for poor parenting, living at home is a marker for young mothers who are at risk for poor parenting.
On the other hand, our results suggest that more schooling may be a real outcome of
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Contact: Karen Melnyk
kmelnyk@apa.org
202-336-5926
Society for Research in Child Development
16-Jul-2004