A comparison of the psychological resources of adolescents at low and high risk of mistreating their children.
OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to compare the psychological resources of pregnant teenagers who are at low and high risk for mistreating their children.


METHODS
We studied 71 participants in a comprehensive, adolescent-oriented maternity program. During the prenatal period, the Family Stress Checklist was used to quantify child abuse potential, with scores > or =25 defining high risk. Information about the social context of the pregnancy and maternal psychological resources was obtained with self-administered questionnaires. A composite psychological resource variable was computed by summing the z scores for intelligence, mental health, and mastery, with scores < or =0 defining the low-resource group.


RESULTS
Of the 71 teenagers, 26 (36.6%) were classified as high risk for child abuse and neglect. Compared with low-risk teens, high-risk teens had more behavioral problems, lower psychological resource scores (mean +/- SD of z score: -0.98 +/- 2.02 compared with 0.39 +/- 1.79; P =.004), and were more likely to have low psychological resources (69.2% compared with 44.4%; P =.04).


CONCLUSIONS
Pregnant teenagers who are at risk for child abuse and neglect exhibit fewer psychological resources than their low-risk peers do, and may therefore benefit preferentially from intensive, in-home intervention.
Stevens-Simon
C
C
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, The Children's Hospital, 1056 East 19th Street, Denver, CO 80208.
Barrett
J
J
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires