Friday, 14 January 2005 - 2:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Risk for Child Maltreatment

Adolescent Mothers and Fathers of the Child: Risk for Physical Neglect and Abuse

Childbearing of adolescents have been a major societal issue. However, it has been difficult to get a fuller picture of adolescent parents, especially in relation to child maltreatment risks. This paper used a nationally representative data to complement previous studies and to describe the characteristics of adolescent mothers and fathers of the focal child, to examine the role of fathers, and to predict protective and risk factors in child maltreatment.

This study used the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing (FFCW) Study, which is an ongoing, longitudinal survey being conducted by Princeton University and Columbia University. Among all participants, mothers who were under the age of 20 at birth were selected (Baseline N=1,299). Mothers and fathers, if available, who participated in baseline and three year follow-up surveys were examined for child maltreatment risks. The measures of cognitive/emotional care were assessed by the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) and Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) were drawn from the subscales of Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales. Maternal Spanking was constructed to examine how frequently the mother has spanked the misbehaving child in past month. Various demographic/socioeconomic variables of parents and father factors, such as support during mother’s pregnancy, were some of key predictors in this study.

Descriptive analyses showed that 34.3% of mothers were under the age of 18 when they gave a birth (Min=14 years). Fathers’ age ranged from 15 to 43 and the mean age was 22.2 years. Majority of both young parents were African-American (53.2% for Mother; 54.2% for Father). Over 77% of births were paid by Medicaid. Regression results showed that mothers who lived with both biological parents at age 15 and mothers with older fathers were more likely to provide non-hostile environment for the child. Also, mothers who did not live with both biological parents at age 15 and mothers with “other” racial fathers were more likely to use violent discipline to children. Mothers who did not live with both biological parents at age 15, with younger fathers, with “other” racial fathers were more like to display physical assault towards the child. Mothers who thought of abortion during pregnancy, who did not live with both biological parents at age 15, and with Hispanic fathers were more likely to spank the child.

It is necessary to intervene for minority adolescents and especially those with younger fathers. Also, mothers who thought of abortion during the pregnancy may need extra support and counseling to change their perception of the child and to obtain better parenting skills as they are more likely to spank the child. It was found that mothers who did not live with both biological parents at age 15 were more likely to use violent discipline towards the child. This indicates that in order to prevent future cycle of “fragile families” and its negative impacts on children, efforts should be made to strengthen families, especially young, unprepared families.

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