However, the problems mentioned so far can be prevented and positive outcomes promoted with the support from social networks. The mother of the teen is the most important person involved in this process. Unger and Cooley (1992) found that grandmother’s help with childcare enabled teenagers to go back to education and eventually get employment. Living with grandmother also promoted better health outcomes in children at 12 months old (Schuster, 1986; as cited in Roye & Balk, 1996). However, arguments between mothers and daughters can create an unstable environment for children (Unger & Cooley, 1992). Alternatively, putting the child into day care still enables teenager to continue education and has many positive outcomes for the child. It has been found that children attending high-quality day care had higher cognitive and academic levels which later helped with math and reading abilities (Champbell, Pungello, Miller-Johnson, Burchinal and Ramey, 2001).
The second most important person to facilitating positive outcomes is a partner. A partner provides support and creates a better home environment for a child to grow up in (Unger and Cooley, 1992) and has positive impact on teen mother’s finances if living together (Hardy, Duggan & Pearson, 1989); which provided a better life for the child. Unfortunately, most fathers don’t live with their children due to financial difficulties and fathers contact with the child decreases over time (Rivera, Sweeney and Henderson, 1986). The continued absence of a father figure can cause problems in children. Children who felt close to their fathers did well in their studies, were likely to get a job and were unlikely to suffer from depression (Furstenberg, Brooks-Gunn & Morgan, 1987; as cited in Roye & Balk; 1996).
A supportive partner can also benefit teen mother’s psychological well-being and mother-child bonding. Mothers were more responsive and warm towards their children if they felt supported by a partner (Unger and Wandersman, 1988). This can prevent insecure attachment between mother and child mentioned earlier. Thompson and Peebles-Wilkins (1992) found that teen mother depression decreased when they were supported by partner. However, if partners are involved in crime, alcohol and drug abuse, it may be a cause of stress (Wilkerson, 1991; as cited in Roye & Balk; 1996). Having a partner can also have negative effects on mother’s education as they are more likely to leave education if living with a partner and this will later affect the lifestyle of the child. However, teen mothers were more likely to continue with education if partners were involved, e.g. TAPP programs (Warrick, Christianson, Walruff and Cook, 1993).
Help from social support networks are beneficial alongside professional help. Burke and Liston (1994) established that professional support such as medical care from pediatricians and nurses were invaluable to teenage mothers. By helping mothers, professional support workers are actually helping the children by attempting to prevent the negative outcomes mentioned earlier. Programs involving professionals has had many benefits. Fulton, Murphy and Anderson (1991) found that teenage parenting programs increased teenager’s knowledge about parenting and child development and it was also found that none of the teenagers that took part were abusing or neglecting their child after the program.
Some intervention programs have promoted better mother-child attachment by helping mothers to be more responsive which is important for attachment, as mothers who are more responsive tend to have securely attached children. Such programs involved ‘Interaction Coaching for Adolescent Parents and their Infants’ (Censullo, 1994) and ‘Key to Caregiving program’ (Letourneau, 2001); both improved teenagers responsiveness and interactions with their child. Other programs helped mothers stay in education and get employment to support their child, such as ‘Grads Program’ (Ferguson, 1987; Quint, 1991; as cited in Letourneau, Stewart & Barnfather, 2004).
Disappointingly, not all teenagers benefited from intervention programs. Cooper, Dunst and Vance (1990) found that teenage mothers who were under 16 years old didn’t benefit much from interventions. Therefore, methods to help teen under 16 need more investigation. Teenagers who were not depressed benefited most from intervention programs, but caused stress in teenagers that suffered from depression (Letourneau et al., 2004). Therefore, the support given to depressed teenagers must reduce stress, such as professional counseling.
Conversely, despite most teenagers’ inability to cope with the issues previously mentioned, research has found that some teenagers act differently by showing resilience and determination during the challenges of being a teenage mother. A study by Weed, Keogh and Borkowski (2000) found that teenagers who show more resilience tend to have more support from significant others and gained better education before pregnancy. As these factors help teenagers to cope and provide a better quality of life for their children, lessons learnt from these women should be implemented into intervention programs. This could be used to empower vulnerable teenagers, so that positive outcomes can be promoted in their children.
In conclusion, pregnant teenagers leave education without any qualifications, preventing them from getting jobs to support their children financially, leading to poor diet and living conditions, affecting the child’s health and other aspects in later life. The lack of experience affects teens parenting skills and children are more at risk in dangerous situations compared to children of older mothers. Stress and depression is caused by financial problems which effects teen’s ability to cope with her child. This can result into an insecure attachment and effect later relationships in a child’s life. Social support networks are important for promoting positive outcomes in children of teen parents. The grandmother is the most important, as her help with childcare enables teen mothers to continue studying. However, if being reliant on grandmother isn’t practical, day care can be used to look after children instead. The second most important person is the partner of the teen mother who provides a better financial situation, positive effects on mother-child bonding and mothers psychological well-being, but on the other hand, has been associated with negative effect on teen mother’s education. Professional support has also promoted positive outcomes through a number of intervention programs, supporting better mother-child attachment, helping mothers continue education and get future employment. However, teen mothers under 16 years old and mother’s suffering from depression didn’t benefit much. Research has found that some teens show resilience and determination during the challenges of being a mother and the factors that empower them should be used to encourage other teen mothers and promote positive outcome in their children.
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