THE RELATIONSHIP OF FAMILY PATTERNS TO ADOLESCENT MOTHER-INFANT INTERACTIONS.
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 276
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Sociology, Individual and Family Studies.
Description: In 1983, Smith identified three patterns which describe the manner in which families incorporate the adolescent mother and her infant--role sharing, role blocking, and role binding. This study explored the relationship of these family incorporation patterns to the quality of adolescent mother-infant interactions.

A pilot study with ten black adolescent mothers (1) assessed the validity and reliability of the Baby's Care Inventory for Adolescent Mothers (BCIAM) and the Changes My Baby Has Brought To My Family (CHANGES) questionnaire and (2) determined a method for identifying the family pattern of incorporation. Mothers were 14 to 17 years old, living with their biologically related family, and only child, aged six to twelve months.

Following the pilot study, the quality of 60 black adolescent mother-infant interactions were assessed using the tools from the pilot study, the Caldwell Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Scale (HOME), and Barnard's NCAT Feeding and Teaching Scales. Comparison of the subjects to older mothers and mothers from higher socioeconomic levels showed that the low-income adolescents were not providing environments as conducive to infant learning. Cognitive growth-fostering was their greatest weakness, whereas social-emotional behaviors and response to distress were their strengths. One study subject demonstrated the role blocking pattern, 24 role binding, and 35 role sharing. Role Binding mothers scored higher than the Role Sharing group on Emotional and Verbal Responsivity (p $<$.01), Social-Emotional Growth Fostering on the NCAT Feeding and Teaching scales (p $<$.05), and Cognitive Growth Fostering on the NCAT Feeding scale (p $<$.05).

From anecdotal data, subsets of patterns emerged. Role Binding subjects could be divided into Choice and default groups while Role Sharing subjects could be divided into Collaborative-Nurturant and Turn-Taking. Comparisons of subsets showed significant differences between groups on Emotional and Verbal Responsivity of Mother (on the HOME) and on Social-Emotional Growth Fostering and Cognitive Growth Fostering on the NCAT Feeding scale.

Findings of this study will be relevant to nurses working with adolescent mothers and their families. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge about adolescent mothers by describing the quality of adolescent mother-infant interactions and the significance of family patterns to these interactions.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-02, Section: B, page: 0492.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1988.

School code: 0227.