Potential for Child Neglect: The Case of Adolescent Mothers and Their Children

• NCJ Number: 216115
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 11 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 281-294
• Author(s): Julie J. Lounds; John G. Borkowski; Thomas L. Whitman
• Date Published: August 2006
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): HD-26456; HD-39456; 037224; HD-39456; HD-07184
• Sponsoring Agency: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; National Institute on Drug Abuse; Gang Intelligence Strategy Committee; Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the role of neglect potential in adolescent mother-child dyads, in terms of past history and its consequences for children’s development.

Abstract

In this study, both maternal histories of neglect and the quality of mother-child interactions uniquely predicted neglect potential. Study results also indicate that children born to adolescent mothers are likely to experience more adverse developmental outcomes than children born to adult mothers. Neglect potential increased the risk for aggression, acting out, and problems with social adaptation, even among children who were already at an increased risk for these problems due to being raised by an adolescent parent. Mediational analysis revealed that mothers who interacted less frequently with their children in a responsive and sensitive style, or who were at higher risk for abuse as indicated by their feelings of unhappiness and rigid beliefs, had higher neglect potential related to children’s externalizing problems. Future research should focus on the impact of interventions with adolescent mothers that are tailored to the parenting characteristics that place them at risk for neglectful parenting. Of all forms of child maltreatment, neglect is the most poorly understood and inadequately measured. The focus on child neglect is important because of its potential as a causal factor in understanding children’s development. This study examined person and family-level variables that were related to neglect potential in teenage mothers and investigated the relations of neglect potential with developmental outcomes in children at risk because of poverty, low maternal IQ, and inadequate preparation for parenting. The study consisted of 100 teenage mothers and their first-born children. Data was collected from the third trimester of pregnancy until the children’s 10th year. Tables, figure, and references