Depression and parent-child interactions in adolescent mothers

Teen pregnancy has become a serious problem in the United States. There is concern for these young mothers and also for their children. Research has identified their poor parent-child interactions, with some concerns about possible child abuse and neglect. However, little research has been conducted to better understand the reasons for this. Maternal depression in older mothers has been implicated in poor parent-child interactions, but depression in adolescent mothers has not been studied for a possible link between depression and their negative parent-child interactions. The purpose of this study was to examine depression and parent-child interactions in adolescent mothers, addressing the failings of other studies by including a sample of adult mothers for comparison and controlling for possible relationships with demographic variables. It was anticipated that depression and negative parent-child interactions would be higher in adolescent mothers, but that depression would explain the relationship of parent-child interactions with age through mediation. Research participants were 129 adolescent and 148 adult mothers enrolled in a home-visiting program for mothers at risk of abusing or neglecting their children. The sample was a low-SES, mostly Caucasian sample from various counties throughout the state of Indiana. Participants were assessed for potential risk with the Family Stress Checklist to determine program eligibility. Those who accepted the program and agreed to participate in the evaluation of the program completed questionnaires, one of which was used in this study. The Brief Symptom Inventory was used as a measure of depression. Home visitors working with the families completed a measure of parent-child interactions, the HOME Inventory. Results were not as expected, as age was not significantly correlated with either depression or parent-child interactions. Mothers of all ages generally had higher depression scores than the general population, suggesting that depression is still of concern, especially in an at-risk population. However, there was no relationship between depression and parent-child interactions in this study. Future research should focus on the role of stress, as there was a relationship between scores on the Family Stress Checklist and depression and parent-child interactions in this study