ORIGINAL PAPER
Experiencing and the realization of motherhood by teenage mothers
1
Department of Developmental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic
University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Submission date: 2014-09-29
Final revision date: 2015-02-17
Acceptance date: 2015-02-17
Online publication date: 2015-04-30
Publication date: 2015-05-01
Health Psychology Report 2016;4(1):24–40
KEYWORDS
adolescenceteenage motherhoodC4.5 algorithmData Miningmodel of the transformation of the phenomenondata mining
TOPICS
including prevention and promotionchild and adolescent healthcouple and family relationships in healthquality of life and well beingresearch methodology, measurement, and statistics in health psychology
ABSTRACT
Background
Early motherhood constitutes a difficult challenge for girls, and the level of their performance in that role is varied. In this article, teenage motherhood as a process is considered. The objective of the research was to determine the paths by which teenage girls enter the mother role. Particular attention was paid to the nature of individual differences in the ways of experiencing and the realization of the successive steps of teenage motherhood: how the girls reacted to the fact of being a mother, what they experienced and how they behaved during pregnancy and performed child care.
Participants and procedure
In the research, 166 mothers who had given birth to their children between the 15th and 19th year of life were included (at the moment of giving birth to the child, the age of the mother was M = 17.22). A follower interview was used. It was directed towards recreating the course of their lives from the period preceding becoming pregnant to the period of pregnancy and looking after the child, taking into consideration the complex situations connected with life and development of the female teenagers.
Results
In the research, we applied the Reconstruction Strategy of the Process Transformation, setting the direction of qualitative analyses: (1) the level of single cases (case study), and (2) the level of the collection of cases (extracting groups of girls with common characteristics using the artificial intelligence algorithm C4.5). The analysis revealed the diversity and the internal structure of paths of the experience and realization of early motherhood: from negating oneself as a responsible mother to accepting the role of mother.
Conclusions
The final result is constituted by the model revealing the transformation of teenage motherhood and mechanisms underlying it.
Early motherhood constitutes a difficult challenge for girls, and the level of their performance in that role is varied. In this article, teenage motherhood as a process is considered. The objective of the research was to determine the paths by which teenage girls enter the mother role. Particular attention was paid to the nature of individual differences in the ways of experiencing and the realization of the successive steps of teenage motherhood: how the girls reacted to the fact of being a mother, what they experienced and how they behaved during pregnancy and performed child care.
Participants and procedure
In the research, 166 mothers who had given birth to their children between the 15th and 19th year of life were included (at the moment of giving birth to the child, the age of the mother was M = 17.22). A follower interview was used. It was directed towards recreating the course of their lives from the period preceding becoming pregnant to the period of pregnancy and looking after the child, taking into consideration the complex situations connected with life and development of the female teenagers.
Results
In the research, we applied the Reconstruction Strategy of the Process Transformation, setting the direction of qualitative analyses: (1) the level of single cases (case study), and (2) the level of the collection of cases (extracting groups of girls with common characteristics using the artificial intelligence algorithm C4.5). The analysis revealed the diversity and the internal structure of paths of the experience and realization of early motherhood: from negating oneself as a responsible mother to accepting the role of mother.
Conclusions
The final result is constituted by the model revealing the transformation of teenage motherhood and mechanisms underlying it.
REFERENCES (59)
1.
Adamski, F. (2007). Rodzina: wymiar społeczno-kulturowy [Family: the sociocultural dimension]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo UJ.
2.
Arnett, J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press.
4.
Bartosz, B. (2002). Doświadczanie macierzyństwa. Analiza narracji autobiograficznych [Experiencing motherhood. The analysis of autobiographical narratives]. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego.
5.
Bidzan, M. (2007). Nastoletnie matki. Psychologiczne aspekty ciąży, porodu i połogu [Teenage mothers. The psychological aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and accouchement]. Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza Impuls.
6.
Bidzan, M. (2013). Nastoletnie rodzicielstwo. Perspektywa psychologiczna [Teenage parenthood. The psychological perspective]. Gdańsk: Harmonia Universalis.
7.
Bidzan, M., & Redzimska, M. (2004). Własne dziecko a wyobrażenie o nim u nastoletnich matek oraz u pełnoletnich kobiet [Own child and its image among teenage mothers and adult women]. In: E. Martynowicz (ed.), Motywy, cele, wartości. Przyczynek do zrozumienia stanu ducha i stanu umysłu współczesnych Polaków [Motives, aims, values. The trigger to understand the state of spirit and mind among contemporary Poles] (pp. 239–255). Kraków: Wydawnictwo IMPULS.
8.
Birkeland, R., Thompson, J. K., & Phares, V. (2005). Adolescent motherhood and postpartum depression. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 292–300.
9.
Borkowski, J. G., Bisconti, T., Willard, C. C., Keogh, D. A., & Whitman, T. L. (2002). The adolescent as parent: Influences on children’s intellectual, academic, and socioemotional development. In: J. G. Borkowski, S. L. Ramey, & M. Bristol-Power (eds.), Parenting and the Child’s World (pp. 161–184). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaoum Associates.
10.
Borowski, E. A., Ievers-Landis, C. E., Lovegreen, L. D., & Trapl, E. S. (2003). Parental monitoring, negotiated unsupervised time, and parental trust: the role of perceived parenting practices in adolescent health risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33, 60–70.
11.
Brzezińska, A. I., Czub, T., Nowotnik A., & Rękosiewicz, M. (2012). Wspomaganie polskiej młodzieży we wkraczaniu w dorosłość. Dyskusja na marginesie Raportu „Młodzi 2011” [Supporting Polish youth in entering adulthood. Discussion on the fringes of the‚ Youth of 2011’ Report]. Kultura i Edukacja, 3, 258–272.
12.
Buchholz, E. S., & Gol, B. (1986). More than Playing House: A Developmental Perspective on the Strengths in Teenage Motherhood. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 56, 347–359.
13.
Christ, M. A., Lahey, B. B., Frick, P. J., Russo, M. F., & McBurnett, K. (1990). Serious Conduct Problems in the Children of Adolescent Mothers: Disentangling Confounded Correlations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 840–844.
14.
Coley, R. L., & Chase-Lansdale, L. (1998). Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood. Recent Evidence and Future Directions. American Psychologist, 53, 152–166.
15.
Campbell, J. D. (1990). Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 538–549.
16.
Conger, R. D., McCarty, J. A., Yang, R. K., Lahey, B. B., & Burgess, R. L. (1984). Mothers’ age as a predictor of observed maternal behavior in three independent samples of families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 2, 411–424.
17.
Corcoran, J. (1998). Consequences of adolescent pregnancy/parenting: A review of the literature. Social Work in Health Care, 27, 49–67.
18.
Czub, T. (2013). Shame as a self-conscious emotion and its role in identity formation. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 44, 245–253.
19.
Deal, L. W., & Holt, V. L. (1998). Young maternal age and depressive symptoms: Results from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 266–270.
20.
Deręgowska, J. & Majorczyk, M. (eds.). (2012). Konteksty współczesnego macierzyństwa. Perspektywa młodych naukowców [Modern motherhood contexts. The perspective of young scientists]. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Nauk Humanistycznych i Dziennikarstwa.
21.
Drop, E. & Maćkiewicz, M. (eds.). (2012). Młoda psychologia (Tom I) [Young psychology (Vol. I)] . Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Liberi Libri.
22.
Duncan, S., Edwards, R, & Alexander, C. (eds.). (2010). Teenage Parenthood: What’s the Problem? London: Tufnell Press.
23.
Ferre, Z., Gerstenbluth, M., Rossi, M., & Triunfo, P. (2013). The impact of teenage childbearing on educational outcomes. The Journal of Developing Areas, 47, 159–174.
24.
Fischer, K. W., & Bidell, T. R. (2006). Dynamic development of action, thought, and emotion. In:.
25.
W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (eds.), Theoretical models of human development. Handbook of child psychology (I) (pp. 313–399). New York: Wiley.
26.
Frankowicz-Gasiul, B., Michalik, A., Czerwińska, A., Zydorek, M., Olszewska, J., & Olszewski, J. (2008). Ciąża młodocianych – problem medyczny i społeczny [Teenage pregnancy – medical and social problem]. Studia Medyczne, 11, 57–63.
28.
Furstenberg, F. F., Brooks-Gunn, J. A., & Chase-Lansdale, L. (1989). Teenaged pregnancy and childbearing. American Psychologist, 44, 313–320.
29.
Galambos, N. L., Barker, E. T., & Tilton-Weaver, L. C. (2003). Who gets caught at maturity gap? A study of pseudomature, immature, and mature adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 253–263.
30.
Garcia, C. C., Hoffman, J., Van Houten, L., & Oh, W. (1987). The social context of teenage childbearing: Effects on the infant’s caregiving environment. Journal of Adolescence, 16, 345–360.
31.
Gardner, H., & Davis, K. (2013). The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
32.
Gatnar, E. (1998). Symboliczne metody klasyfikacji danych [Symbolic methods for data classification]. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo PWN.
33.
Gee, Ch. B., & Rhodes, J. E. (2003). Adolescent Mothers’ Relationship With Their Children’s Biological Fathers: Social Support, Social Strain, and Relationship Continuity. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 370–383.
34.
Komorowska, M. (2012). Problemy nastolatek w ciąży [Problems of pregnant teenager]. Remedium, 1, 6–7.
35.
Królikowska, S. (2011). Sytuacja społeczna młodocianych matek [Social situation of teenage mothers]. Roczniki Socjologii Rodzin, 21, 79–101.
36.
Kwak, A. (2005). Rodzina w dobie przemian. Małżeństwo i kohabitacja [Family in times of change. Marriage and cohabitation]. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Akademickie Żak.
37.
Makowska, M. (2012). Samotne macierzyństwo skutkiem różnych doświadczeń życiowych – dziecko w życiu samotnej matki [Single motherhood as a consequence of various life experiences – the child in life of the single mother]. Sieradz: Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczno-Ekonomiczna.
38.
Mcneely, C., Shew, M. L., Beuhring, T., Sieving, R., Miller, B. C., & Blum, R. W. M. (2002). Mothers’ influence on the timing of first sex among 14- and 15-year-olds. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 256–265.
39.
Meade, Ch. S., Kershaw, T. S., & Ickovics, J. R. (2008). The Intergenerational Cycle of Teenage Motherhood: An Ecological Approach. Health Psychology, 27, 419–429.
40.
Michalska, A. (2006). Obrazy życia rodzinnego z perspektywy interdyscyplinarnej [Family life images in the interdisciplinary perspective]. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM.
41.
Mikołajczyk-Lerman, G. (2007). Małoletnie rodzicielstwo jako problem psychospołeczny [Teenage parenting as a psychosocial problem]. Polityka Społeczna, 8, 54–58.
42.
Miller, B. C., Benson, B., & Galbraith, K. A. (2001). Family relationships and adolescent pregnancy risk: A research synthesis. Developmental Review, 21, 1–38.
43.
Molenaar, P. C. M. (2004). A Manifesto on Psychology as Idiographic Science: Bringing the Person Back Into Scientific Psychology. Measurement, 2, 201–218.
44.
Nisbet, R., Elder, J., & Miner, G. (2009). Handbook of statistical analysis and data mining applications. Burlington, MA: Academic Press/Elsevier.
45.
Quinlan, J. R. (1993). C4.5: Programs for machine learning. San Mateo, California: Morgan Kaufman Publishers, Inc.
46.
Ragozin, A. S., Basham, R. B., Crinic, K. A., Greenberg, M. T., & Robinson, N. M. (1982). Effects of maternal age on parenting role. Developmental Psychology, 18, 627–634.
47.
Rzechowska, E. (2004). Potencjalność w procesie rozwoju: mikroanaliza konstruowania wiedzy w dziecięcych interakcjach rówieśniczych [Potentiality in the process of development: microanalysis of knowledge construction during children’s peer interactions]. Lublin: RW KUL.
48.
Rzechowska, E. (2008). Metoda mikrogenetyczna: klasycy psychologii w poszukiwaniu pogłębionego opisu zmian w rozwoju człowieka [The microgenetic metod: the classics in the history of psychology in search for in-depth description of developmental changes]. In: E. Rydz & D. Musiał (eds.), Z zagadnień psychologii rozwoju człowieka [From the developmental psychology issues] (pp. 13–32) (Vol. II). Lublin: TN KUL.
49.
Rzechowska, E. (ed.). (2010). Dojrzały pracownik na rynku pracy: Jak zabezpieczyć przed wykluczeniem społecznym osoby 50+? [The mature worker on labor market: How to protect from the social exclusion the persons aged 50+?]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Lubelskiej Szkoły Biznesu. Available at: http://www.lbs.pl/projekt/deza....
50.
Rzechowska, E. (2011). Podejście procesualne: warianty badań nad procesami w mikro- i makroskali [The processual approach: variants of research on processes in a micro- and macro-scale]. Roczniki Psychologiczne, 14, 127–157.
51.
Sakowicz, T. (2006). Dysfunkcjonalność rodziny a resocjalizacja [Dysfunctional families and resocialization]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Impuls.
52.
Schaffer, C., & Pine, F. (1972). Pregnancy, abortion, and the developmental tasks of adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 11, 511–536.
53.
Schwartz, S. J., Klimstra, T. A., Luyckx, K., Halle 3rd, W. W., & Meeus, H. J. (2012). Characterizing the Self-System over Time in Adolescence: Internal Structure and Associations with Internalizing Symptoms. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 41, 1208–1225.
54.
Skowrońska-Zbierzchowska, A. (2010). Doświadczenie małoletnich rodziców aspekty socjopedagogiczne [Experience of teenage parents. Sociopedagogical aspects]. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.
55.
Sommer, K., Whitman, T. L., Borkowski, J. G., Schellenbach, C., Maxwell, S., & Keogh, D. (1993). Cognitive Readiness and Adolescent Parenting. Developmental Psychology, 29, 389–398.
56.
Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. (2000). Parental Monitoring: A Reinterpretation. Child Development, 71, 1072–1085.
57.
Thompson, S., & Wood, L. (2012). Supporting younger and older women during pregnancy and birth (Section 1). In: T. A. Mills, D. M. Smith, & D. T Lavender (eds.), Younger mothers and older mothers: Maternal age and maternity care (pp. 75–88). Quay Books Division, MA Healthcare Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London.
58.
Woodward, L. J., & Fergusson, D. M. (1999). Early conduct problems and later risk of teenage pregnancy in girls. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 127–141.
59.
Ziemska, M. (2005). Rodzina współczesna [Contemporary family]. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Copyright: © Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.