Effects of Parenting on Teens

Effects on Child

Facts in Brief

Professional
Current Research

Implications for Practice

Gaps and Inconsistencies

"Social support is a multidimensional metaconstruct comprised of interpersonal transactions that include one or more of the following: the expression of positive affect of one person to another, affirmation of another person's behaviors or perceptions, and the giving of symbolic or material aid to another." (Kahn, 1979 as cited in Connelly, 1998, p. 198-199).

According to the social learning theory, learning occurs through modeling, imitation, and reinforcement. (Bandura, 1977 as cited in Records, 1994, p. 792).

There is a need for comprehensive psychosocial assessment for variables in the adolescent's life which greatly impact on their ability to parent. It is important to take a "Bottom Up" approach in which the nurse works collaboratively with the patient to identify individual patient care needs and especially when developing programs for groups. A program's effectiveness and helpfulness is greatly increased by identifying resources to satisfy these individual needs. Specific variables may include (Elster, McAnarney, and Lamb, 1983 as cited in Burke and Liston, 1994, p. 594) 

Teaching childbirth education curriculum in groups is more cost effective than providing the information to individuals. After the education classes were started, the care providers received more questions from teens when they were assessing the mothers. This is important in helping the care provider in identifying areas a teen desires more information. It is also important to continue the classes even though the teens may not display a great deal of interest, because the teens are benefiting from the information. Their lack of enthusiasm is related to their distrust of adults and the difficult transitions of achieving Erickson's developmental stages of role identity and intimacy (Hurlbut, Culp, Jambunathan and Butler, 1997, p. 639-649). These stages also explain why a teenager seems to change their mind frequently since they are experimenting with different ideals. They also will need guidance in how to protect themselves if they are continuing to engage in sexual activity (Carrington et al., 1994, p. 317).

Research done by Herrmann, Cleve, and Levisen (1998) in a non-urban area demonstrated positive outcomes for adolescent parents when visited by public health nursing (PHN). The teen mothers are more likely to "start school, follow-up on medical advice, have their babies immunized, and stimulate normal development for children" (Herrmann, Cleve, and Levisen, 1998, p. 437).

A drop in self-esteem between birth and 6 months and decreasing social support between 6 and 18 months demonstrates the need for continued support by providers (Herrmann, Cleve, and Levisen, 1998, p. 432).

The study also demonstrated the fact that some mothers viewed the nurses as someone who is there only to check up on them. A nurse could remedy this by explaining the role a nurse takes in providing care. A PHN can be of great value by acting as a case manager through coordinating the varied services a patient needs. A teen may act defensively because of a lack of experience with positive adult role models, being afraid to trust an adult, and the difficult developmental stage of adolescence (Burke and Liston, 1994, p. 596). 

"Community based programs seldom involve key member of the adolescents' social support network" (Jones, 1991; Miller, 1983; Rich, 1991 as cited in Burke and Liston, 1994, 594). It is vital to include the key members (baby's grandmother and father, and the parent's friends) because these are the people the teen turns to for information in making decisions for her child as well as emotional support (Burke and Liston, 1994, p. 594).