title: Adolescent mothers: what factors relate to level of preventive health care sought for their infants?
abstract: This exploratory study investigated the level of preventive health care services that adolescent mothers (ages 14 to 17) sought for their infants during the first 2 years of the infants' lives. Findings showed that mothers who maintained a relationship with their child's father or exhibited a high Powerful Others Locus of Control were more likely to practice better preventive health care. The role that social support and locus of control play in mediating parental stress is discussed. Implications for nurses working with adolescent mothers are presented.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Widener University, Chester, PA, USA.
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care / Q000523:psychology*; D008423:Maternal Age; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009511:New England; D010371:Pediatric Nursing; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012923:Social Class