Psychosocial Parenting Interventions for Adolescent Parents with Sexual Trauma Histories

Purpose & Background: The US leads the industrialized world in teenage pregnancies, with 3 in 10 girls becoming pregnant at least once prior to age 20, resulting in approximately 1.9 billion dollars spent annually in public health costs. Early parenthood is associated with childhood experiences of sexual abuse, increased conflict between parents and children, interpersonal violence. Interpersonal violence can disrupt a parent’s ability to be sensitive to the developmental needs of their child, as can the early and atypical transition into parenthood. Additionally, early parenthood may cause additional stress via additional negative experiences like lower educational attainment, fewer long-term financial opportunities, and higher risk of rapid-repeat pregnancies. Moreover, children of adolescent parents are statistically more likely to struggle with cognitive impairments and behavioral problems and they are more likely to become adolescent parents. This study provides a critical review of psychosocial based parenting interventions that adhere to the specialized needs of adolescent parents with interpersonal trauma histories.

Method: We conducted a systematic review following the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Inclusion criteria: (a) study was conducted in the US; (b) study was available in English; (c) study appeared in a peer-reviewed journal database, the Campbell Collaboration, or the Cochrane Guide; (d) study included adolescents (aged 13 – 18 years old); (e) participants had a reported history of sexual abuse; (f) participants engaged in a psychosocial treatment designed to increase parental outcomes; (g) quantitative outcomes were measured. We utilized the following search engines: Campbell Systemic Reviews, Cochrane Library Guide, PsycINFO, ERIC, Social Work Abstracts, and PubMed. Our goal was to identify and evaluate existing empirical research regarding psychosocial interventions intended to increase parental support, competence, and overall well-being of adolescent parents with histories of interpersonal trauma.

Results: The search yielded three viable and statistically significant micro interventions (Muzik et al., 2016; Rosenblum et al., 2017; & Guttentag et al., 2014) that increased parental competence and improved child developmental outcomes. Within and between-group effect sizes evidenced improvement in parental competence and childhood well-being for all studies.

Conclusions: Findings from this systematic review provide preliminary evidence that psychosocial interventions can facilitate positive changes in the daily functioning and overall well-being of adolescent parents with histories of interpersonal trauma and the development of their children. Due to the lack of specified interventions for this niche population, we call for increased empirical support and investigation into relevant intervention options for these young parents. Future systematic reviews should consider macro-interventions for a broader and more in-depth analysis of all possible psychosocial interventions.