Resilience in parenting among young mothers: Family and ecological risks and opportunities

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Abstract

The present study used a person-centered approach to examine resilience in parenting among a sample of young mothers (under age 21 at childbirth). Resilient functioning as a parent was defined as the lack of perpetration of child maltreatment (substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect) in the context of risk. Risk factors were assessed at multiple levels, including family (e.g., negative childhood histories in family of origin) and ecological (e.g., neighborhood poverty, mother's financial stress) levels. Analyses revealed a group of mothers who demonstrated resilience in parenting despite a context of substantial risks from their childhood histories (e.g., negative family relationships) and current ecologies (e.g., economic and neighborhood conditions). Mothers in the resilient group were less likely to a) live with their families of origin, and b) to rely on their own mothers as sources of emotional or caregiving support. Data also indicated that young mothers' resilient functioning as parents was associated with higher rates of depressive symptoms among these mothers, perhaps suggesting a “cost” or limit to resilient parenting functioning in young mothers. Results are discussed in a resilience framework.

Introduction

Early parenthood is associated with challenging life trajectories, both antecedent to and following the transition to parenthood. Young women who become mothers as adolescents are less likely to be successful in educational, occupational and economic attainment, and are more likely to be single parents, to live in poverty, and to have been victims of abuse than are women who become mothers as adults (Borkowski et al., 2007, Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998, Wakschlag et al., 1996). In addition, adolescents who become young mothers are more likely to engage in risky behaviors (e.g., substance use), and experience high levels of depressive symptoms, with rates of moderate to severe depressive symptoms found among 30–60% of adolescent mothers (Field et al., 1990, Leadbeater & Linares, 1992). These are conditions that challenge the development of healthy parenting. Indeed, children of young mothers are more likely to be victims of maltreatment, and their mothers are at higher risk for perpetrating maltreatment, compared to children of older mothers (Bert et al., 2009, Lounds et al., 2006). While these circumstances place young mothers and their children at risk for poor life outcomes, many young mothers thrive, and show resilient functioning, defined as “high adversity and high competence” (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). The focus of this paper is an examination of the contextual factors associated with resilient functioning in young mothers, with regard to perpetration of child maltreatment.

Since early childbearing is associated with a host of risky circumstances in young mothers' lives, it also is linked with risks to optimal parenting. Studies of parenting styles of young mothers, as a group, suggest that many young mothers are not prepared to exhibit sensitive, positive parenting. Teen parents are less likely to be knowledgeable about child development, are more likely to hold inappropriate expectations for their children, demonstrate less empathy when compared with older mothers (Karraker & Evans, 1996), and are more likely to exhibit parenting behaviors that are potentially abusive or neglectful (Leadbeater & Way, 2003, Stevens-Simon et al., 2001). Indeed, there are higher rates of child maltreatment among children of adolescent mothers (Lounds et al., 2006, Stevens-Simon et al., 2001). Some estimates are that children of young mothers are twice as likely to be victims of child maltreatment (perpetrated by their mothers and by others) than are children of older mothers. In one study of adolescent mothers, more than 20% of children were removed from maternal custody by the time they were 2 years old (Stevens-Simon et al., 2001).

Given both the distal (challenging ecological environments) and proximal (less optimal parenting) contexts in which they develop, it is not surprising that as a group, children of adolescent mothers are at greater risk for difficulties in developmental functioning than children of adult mothers, with higher rates of behavior problems, delays in cognitive and language development, and insecure attachments (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998, Luster & Haddow, 2005). These problems are not necessarily caused by teen childbearing, but may result from exposure to challenging family and ecological circumstances, lack of socioeconomic and educational opportunities, and high rates of depression that preceded early childbearing.

Ecological and developmental contextual theories of parenting and child maltreatment (Belsky, 1993, Cicchetti & Valentino, 2006, Cowan & Cowan, 1990) propose that parenting has multiple determinants, including intergenerational influences, current family context, and situational supports and stressors. Young mothers' childhood histories of being parented play a prominent role in their own parenting styles (Shapiro & Mangelsdorf, 1994, Spieker et al., 1996). Histories of negative relationships and maltreatment are more prevalent among young mothers when compared to either adult mothers or nonparenting adolescents (Adams & East, 1999, Boyer & Fine, 1992). Fraiberg and colleagues (Fraiberg, Adelson, & Shapiro, 1975) coined the phrase “ghosts in the nursery” to explain how a parent's negative experiences during childhood influence their own parenting cognitions, emotions, and behaviors toward their offspring. While there is evidence for an “intergenerational cycle of abuse” (Dixon, Browne, & Hamilton-Giachritsis, 2008), the majority of mothers who have been maltreated during childhood do not go on to maltreat their own children (Cicchetti, & Valentino, 2006; Kaufman & Zigler, 1987). In explanation, Lieberman and colleagues (Lieberman, Padron, Van Horn, & Harris, 2005) noted that positive childhood experiences with parents, the “angels in the nursery”, provide competing models for the transmission of positive parenting behaviors, thus potentially breaking cycles of intergenerational transmission of maltreatment.

Yet relationships between young mothers and caregivers within their families of origin are complex. Relationships with maternal grandmothers, in particular, may have influences on parenting, via intergenerational transmission of childrearing attitudes and behaviors and by the provision of tangible support, such as help with housing and childcare (Leadbeater & Way, 2003, Moore & Brooks-Gunn, 2002). Young mothers often live with their families of origin and/or rely on family members as significant sources of support (emotional, financial, caregiving), even when their childhood histories of being parented were stressful. Economic and social resources of families and of neighborhoods, neighborhood crime, and availability of social services all may contribute to the dynamic interplay between personal, relational, and contextual contributions to resilient functioning (Lerner, 2006).

Despite the risks inherent to early childbearing, there is considerable variability within groups of parents who make an early transition to parenthood (Easterbrooks et al., 2005, Shapiro & Mangelsdorf, 1994). In a recent longitudinal study that followed adolescent mothers 12 years after childbirth, Oxford et al. (2005) reported three profiles, or trajectories: “normative” (positive functioning), “problem-prone”, and “psychologically vulnerable.” The Notre Dame Adolescent Parenting Project identified these same profiles, with “normative” mothers (43%) viewing motherhood as one route to adulthood, “problem-prone” mothers (15%) exhibiting high-risk behaviors, and “psychologically vulnerable” mothers (43%) displaying depressive symptoms and viewing motherhood as compensating for negative self-images (Noria, Weed, & Keogh, 2007). Several other studies have noted the positive trajectories among some young mothers, and have hypothesized that early parenthood can mark a positive entry into adulthood among mothers for whom economic and educational opportunities may be limited (Borkowski et al., 2007, Leadbeater & Way, 2003, Shapiro & Mangelsdorf, 1994). For some mothers, then, becoming a parent marks a “positive new beginning”, both for her infant and herself (Marsiglio, 2004). For other young mothers, however, the tasks and responsibilities of parenting may clash with typical adolescent behavior related to spontaneity, freedom, and autonomy; the result may be compromised developmental adaptation for both the young women and their children.

The notion that resilience is not an “all-or-none” phenomenon is echoed by mounting evidence of “costs” to resilience, or of uneven patterns of adaptation, where resilient functioning may be demonstrated in one domain (such as social relationships or academic achievement) but not others (such as mental health). Recently, Luthar and Zelazo (2003) noted an increasing amount of evidence that resilience, when defined as “overt behavioral competence”, may be accompanied by “covert psychological distress” (p. 539). These authors cited evidence from studies of children living with depressed or mentally ill parents (Hammen, 2003), divorced parents (Hetherington & Elmore, 2003), or alcoholic parents (Zucker, Wong, Puttler, & Fitzgerald, 2003), that pointed to serious contemporaneous or longer-term “costs” of behavioral competence in terms of emotion regulation and internalizing disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety). They urged researchers and interventionists not to overlook the limits of resilient behavior when it is defined by overt behavioral competence, but rather to include in studies indicators of internal distress and psychological functioning, such as depressive symptoms. Werner and Johnson (1999, p. 261) concluded that “resilience, however defined, exacts a price”. Thus, we included assessment of mothers' personal/psychological functioning (maternal depressive symptomatology, educational status, and risky health behaviors) in the current study.

In the present study we sought to examine resilience in parenting among a sample of young mothers. Resilient functioning in parenting was defined as lack of child maltreatment in the context of adversity. Both family (e.g., childhood negative relationships) and broader social ecology (e.g., residential/neighborhood) risks were assessed.

A person-centered approach was used to examine the presence of resilient functioning in the context of various circumstances that might be characterized as risk and protective factors and to allow inferences about person–context interactions. Thus, the analyses more effectively reflect naturally occurring patterns of resilience in young mothers than might a variable-centered approach (Masten & Powell, 2003).

We hypothesized that a) some young mothers would show resilience in parenting; in the context of adversity and risks that increase the likelihood of maltreating their children, they would not perpetrate any form of abuse or neglect; b) mothers who showed resilient functioning would have greater protective factors (e.g., more contact with members of social support networks); and c) there would be evidence of the “costs” of resilience in parenting among young mothers (e.g., higher depressive symptomatology, greater engagement in health risk behaviors, lower educational attainment).

Section snippets

Participants and procedures

Participants were 361 mothers and their infants who were enrolled in a universal statewide prevention-oriented home-visiting program available to all first-time young parents (under the age of 21 years) and their infants. Of the 361 eligible mothers who joined the study at Time 1, approximately 79% (286) completed the final (Time 4) research interview, and 21% (75) left the evaluation at some point. The program focuses on supporting young families with the aims of reducing rates of child abuse

Preliminary analyses and descriptive statistics

Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics for the variables of interest. In order to examine whether there was systematic bias in maternal reporting of childhood histories, correlation analyses were conducted to identify possible associations between participants' current circumstances (e.g., depression, education, and other background variables) and recall of their reports of childhood histories. Results yielded no correlations above 0.25 (p < .01); M = 0.17, suggesting little evidence of

Discussion

The literature on early childbearing shows that, as a group, young mothers are parenting in challenging ecological contexts (e.g., poverty (e.g., Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998)), and often carry challenging childhood histories of care themselves. As such, the parenting of their own children is at risk (e.g., inappropriate attitudes, lack of empathy, higher rates of child maltreatment). Recent studies demonstrate, however, considerable variability among young mothers (Easterbrooks et al., 2005,

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund (Grant MA1014) to A. Easterbrooks & F. Jacobs. The authors would like to thank Jayanthi Mistry, Jessica Goldberg, and the families who participated in the research.

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