Pregnant adolescents and their mothers. A shared experience of teen mothering.
OBJECTIVE
To explore and describe the relationships between African American adolescent mothers and their mothers.


METHODS
A qualitative, descriptive approach was used.


METHODS
In-depth, audio-taped interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions, were conducted with a convenience sample of 12 mother/daughter pairs and three teen mother/mother-figure pairs in a university research area designed for the comfort of the participants. Mothers and daughters were interviewed separately to enhance free expression of their feelings. Participants were recruited through an ongoing study on adolescent motherhood.


RESULTS
Four major themes emerged from the analysis. The two symbolic themes were communication between mother and daughter and role change. The two dominant interactive themes were conflict and social isolation.


CONCLUSIONS
Nursing assessment of pregnant and parenting teen mothers that includes an assessment of the character of the mother/daughter relationship can be valuable in assisting the pregnant teen toward better health.
Paskiewicz
L S
LS
Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University Chicago, 6525 North Sheridan Road, Chicago, Illinois 60626, USA. Lpaskie@luc.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology; D012380:Role; D012381:Role Playing; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*