title: Family stress, perception of pregnancy, and age of first menarche among pregnant adolescents.
abstract: Family-of-origin stress, age of first menarche, and the perception of pregnancy as a life event were examined in 97 pregnant adolescents ages 13 to 18. This study investigated whether family-of-origin stress levels were significantly related to the pregnant adolescent's perception of her pregnancy as a life event. The study also examined whether age of first menarche was related to the subject's level of family stress. Family stress levels were assessed through the Adolescent-Family Inventory of Life-Events and Changes (A-FILE) developed by McCubbin & Thompson (1987). Perception of pregnancy as a life event was measured on a Likert scale developed by the researcher. Age of first menarche was obtained via self-report. Results indicated high levels of family stress among subjects with only a moderate level of impact or stress experienced from the pregnancy. As a group, the subjects experienced first menarche between 12 to 13 years of age, which is the average age supported by other studies within the United States.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Ravert
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008016:Life Change Events; D008572:Menarche / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*