Unmarried Adolescent Mothers: A Case Study of Mother – Daughter Relationships of Seven Unwed Mothers Before and During Their Placement in a Treatment-Oriented Institution, St. Germaine’s Home, Peekskill, New York, 1961

What is an adolescent? Perhaps such a question defies a definition, for an adolescent might be said to be at once narcissistic and self-sacrificing, materialistic and idealistic, mature and childish, cantankerous and submissive, active and lazy, bubbling with enthusiasm and apathetic, hating and loving the same person, secretive about himself and yet at times baring his very soul, always seeking independence, however, turning back frequently for support and reassurance. If the above human pendulum is an adolescent, it is no wonder that adults find such behavior challenging and irritating, baffling and obvious, charming and crude, stimulating and dull, frustrating and gratifying. The normal adolescent has at one time or another any or all of the above contradictory characteristics. They are, so to speak, the adolescent’s explosive dowry which he wishes to exchange for the role of being accepted as an adult. This exchange of roles does not occur overnight but might be said to have been in evolution since earliest childhood. The child passes through a number of significant periods of social, emotional, and physical growth; adolescence is another such period of development but of an accelerated nature. This period of adolescence has been referred to as a flowering and fulfillment but sometimes also as a period of storm and stress resulting in a crisis