The present study examined the influence of maternal age on infant home language environment, focusing on the environments of children born to young mothers using a naturalistic, comprehensive data collection technique. Our sample consisted of 30 mother-child pairs, between the ages of 15 and 21 years old. The current study used the LENA (LENA Research Foundation, 2011) digital processor and software to record and analyze recordings from each parent. Child language development and maternal knowledge of infant development were analyzed. We found that our sample of young mothers knows less about general infant knowledge compared to a normative general sample. We also found that our young mother sample performed similarly to a low SES sample of mothers on general infant development knowledge. Our results may provide support for the connection between knowledge of infant development in mothers leading to positive results in the form of language skills in their child. / October 2016

O presente estudo buscou investigar a experiência de tornar-se mãe de um bebê prematuro na adolescência, em particular, a relação que a mãe adolescente estabelece com o bebê prematuro, durante a internação hospitalar do bebê. Participaram quatro mães adolescentes entre 17 e 18 anos de idade, que tiveram seus bebês prematuros em dois hospitais públicos de Porto Alegre, as quais foram entrevistadas em três momentos da internação do bebê na UTI Neonatal (aproximadamente no 15º dia de vida do bebê, uma semana após este contato e no momento de pré-alta hospitalar do bebê). Os resultados apontaram para um somatório de crises concomitantes como a adolescência, a maternidade e a prematuridade, o que representou um impacto importante neste momento de transição para as adolescentes. Para algumas mães foi possível recuperar-se do choque inicial causado pelo nascimento prematuro de seu bebê, fato relacionado à variação no grau de desenvolvimento individual e nos modos de funcionamento psíquico de cada uma. Além disso, aspectos típicos do funcionamento adolescente mostraram-se evidenciados, mesmo com a exigência de que as mães interrompessem seu processo de adolescer para cuidar do bebê na UTI Neo. Assim também, notou-se que há diferentes tempos que marcaram esta transição para a maternidade: o tempo da UTI, o tempo do bebê e o tempo da adolescente, muito distintos e com características próprias. Outros estudos devem ser realizados nesta temática específica, uma vez que não se conhece os efeitos a médio e longo prazo deste tipo de transição para a maternidade para a mãe e para o bebê. Espera-se que este estudo possa contribuir para se considerar as especificidades do momento da adolescência no contexto da UTI Neo. / The present study investigates the experience of giving birth to a premature baby in adolescence, specifically examining the relationship the adolescent mother establishes with the premature baby during its hospital internment. Four adolescent mothers between 17 and 18 years old took part in the research. They gave birth to their premature babies in two different public hospitals of Porto Alegre and were interviewed at three moments of the babies' internment in the NICU (about 15 days after the babies were born, a week after this first contact and right before the babies' hospital discharge). The results pointed to a sum of simultaneous crisis, such as adolescence, motherhood and prematurity, which represented a major impact at this time of transition for adolescents. For some mothers it was easy to recover from the initial shock caused by the premature birth of their babies, and this fact is related to variations in the degree of individual development as well as to the different modes of psychic functioning of each one of them. Furthermore, some typical aspects of adolescence were shown, even though the adolescents were demanded to interrupt their process of being adolescents to take care of a premature baby in NICU. Thus, it was possible to notice that there were different times that marked the transition to motherhood: the time of NICU, the babies' and the adolescents' time, which were very distinct from each other, showing specific characteristics. Other studies should be conducted in this specific area, since the medium and long term effects of this kind of transition to motherhood, regarding the adolescent mother and the baby, are not known. It is expected that this study contributes to better understanding the specificities of adolescent mothers in the NICU.

O presente estudo buscou investigar a experiência de tornar-se mãe de um bebê prematuro na adolescência, em particular, a relação que a mãe adolescente estabelece com o bebê prematuro, durante a internação hospitalar do bebê. Participaram quatro mães adolescentes entre 17 e 18 anos de idade, que tiveram seus bebês prematuros em dois hospitais públicos de Porto Alegre, as quais foram entrevistadas em três momentos da internação do bebê na UTI Neonatal (aproximadamente no 15º dia de vida do bebê, uma semana após este contato e no momento de pré-alta hospitalar do bebê). Os resultados apontaram para um somatório de crises concomitantes como a adolescência, a maternidade e a prematuridade, o que representou um impacto importante neste momento de transição para as adolescentes. Para algumas mães foi possível recuperar-se do choque inicial causado pelo nascimento prematuro de seu bebê, fato relacionado à variação no grau de desenvolvimento individual e nos modos de funcionamento psíquico de cada uma. Além disso, aspectos típicos do funcionamento adolescente mostraram-se evidenciados, mesmo com a exigência de que as mães interrompessem seu processo de adolescer para cuidar do bebê na UTI Neo. Assim também, notou-se que há diferentes tempos que marcaram esta transição para a maternidade: o tempo da UTI, o tempo do bebê e o tempo da adolescente, muito distintos e com características próprias. Outros estudos devem ser realizados nesta temática específica, uma vez que não se conhece os efeitos a médio e longo prazo deste tipo de transição para a maternidade para a mãe e para o bebê. Espera-se que este estudo possa contribuir para se considerar as especificidades do momento da adolescência no contexto da UTI Neo. / The present study investigates the experience of giving birth to a premature baby in adolescence, specifically examining the relationship the adolescent mother establishes with the premature baby during its hospital internment. Four adolescent mothers between 17 and 18 years old took part in the research. They gave birth to their premature babies in two different public hospitals of Porto Alegre and were interviewed at three moments of the babies' internment in the NICU (about 15 days after the babies were born, a week after this first contact and right before the babies' hospital discharge). The results pointed to a sum of simultaneous crisis, such as adolescence, motherhood and prematurity, which represented a major impact at this time of transition for adolescents. For some mothers it was easy to recover from the initial shock caused by the premature birth of their babies, and this fact is related to variations in the degree of individual development as well as to the different modes of psychic functioning of each one of them. Furthermore, some typical aspects of adolescence were shown, even though the adolescents were demanded to interrupt their process of being adolescents to take care of a premature baby in NICU. Thus, it was possible to notice that there were different times that marked the transition to motherhood: the time of NICU, the babies' and the adolescents' time, which were very distinct from each other, showing specific characteristics. Other studies should be conducted in this specific area, since the medium and long term effects of this kind of transition to motherhood, regarding the adolescent mother and the baby, are not known. It is expected that this study contributes to better understanding the specificities of adolescent mothers in the NICU.

O presente estudo buscou investigar a experiência de tornar-se mãe de um bebê prematuro na adolescência, em particular, a relação que a mãe adolescente estabelece com o bebê prematuro, durante a internação hospitalar do bebê. Participaram quatro mães adolescentes entre 17 e 18 anos de idade, que tiveram seus bebês prematuros em dois hospitais públicos de Porto Alegre, as quais foram entrevistadas em três momentos da internação do bebê na UTI Neonatal (aproximadamente no 15º dia de vida do bebê, uma semana após este contato e no momento de pré-alta hospitalar do bebê). Os resultados apontaram para um somatório de crises concomitantes como a adolescência, a maternidade e a prematuridade, o que representou um impacto importante neste momento de transição para as adolescentes. Para algumas mães foi possível recuperar-se do choque inicial causado pelo nascimento prematuro de seu bebê, fato relacionado à variação no grau de desenvolvimento individual e nos modos de funcionamento psíquico de cada uma. Além disso, aspectos típicos do funcionamento adolescente mostraram-se evidenciados, mesmo com a exigência de que as mães interrompessem seu processo de adolescer para cuidar do bebê na UTI Neo. Assim também, notou-se que há diferentes tempos que marcaram esta transição para a maternidade: o tempo da UTI, o tempo do bebê e o tempo da adolescente, muito distintos e com características próprias. Outros estudos devem ser realizados nesta temática específica, uma vez que não se conhece os efeitos a médio e longo prazo deste tipo de transição para a maternidade para a mãe e para o bebê. Espera-se que este estudo possa contribuir para se considerar as especificidades do momento da adolescência no contexto da UTI Neo. / The present study investigates the experience of giving birth to a premature baby in adolescence, specifically examining the relationship the adolescent mother establishes with the premature baby during its hospital internment. Four adolescent mothers between 17 and 18 years old took part in the research. They gave birth to their premature babies in two different public hospitals of Porto Alegre and were interviewed at three moments of the babies' internment in the NICU (about 15 days after the babies were born, a week after this first contact and right before the babies' hospital discharge). The results pointed to a sum of simultaneous crisis, such as adolescence, motherhood and prematurity, which represented a major impact at this time of transition for adolescents. For some mothers it was easy to recover from the initial shock caused by the premature birth of their babies, and this fact is related to variations in the degree of individual development as well as to the different modes of psychic functioning of each one of them. Furthermore, some typical aspects of adolescence were shown, even though the adolescents were demanded to interrupt their process of being adolescents to take care of a premature baby in NICU. Thus, it was possible to notice that there were different times that marked the transition to motherhood: the time of NICU, the babies' and the adolescents' time, which were very distinct from each other, showing specific characteristics. Other studies should be conducted in this specific area, since the medium and long term effects of this kind of transition to motherhood, regarding the adolescent mother and the baby, are not known. It is expected that this study contributes to better understanding the specificities of adolescent mothers in the NICU.

Each year in Canada there are nearly 13,000 infants born to women under the age of 20 years (Statistics Canada, 2016). Infants born to adolescent mothers are at an increased risk for preterm birth, low birth weight, and congenital anomalies, making these infants more likely to require hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) shortly after birth (DeMarco et al., 2021; Fleming et al., 2013; Shrim et al., 2011). Admission of their infant to the NICU creates an increasingly complex situation, as adolescent mothers and their children often already experience multiple social, psychological, and economic difficulties (Fleming et al., 2015). Additionally, adolescents are still developing important cognitive functions, such as advanced reasoning and decision-making, thus making their ability to navigate complex systems such as the NICU particularly challenging (Blakemore & Choudhury, 2006). However, the unique experience of the adolescent mother within the context of the NICU and their transition-home following discharge is poorly understood. Therefore, the overall purpose of this thesis was to explore the issue of transition-home from NICU for adolescent mothers with infants admitted to the NICU. Three overarching goals guided this thesis work, these goals were to: (a) understand the transition experiences of adolescent mothers with infants in the NICU from a theoretical perspective; (b) understand how to best collect rich qualitative data among study participants experiencing marginalization or stigma; and (c) conduct research to further understand the phenomena and how to begin to address transition-related issues. Findings related to each of these goals are presented in four manuscripts that make up this sandwich thesis, including a critical review of theory, an exploration of methods, and an interpretive description study exploring NICU-to-Home transitions. The work presented in this thesis emphasizes the complexity of the NICU-to-home transition for adolescent mothers. Findings highlight the need for strategies within the NICU to mitigate the negative influence of this experience and opportunities for more integrated models of care within the NICU and extending into the community. Implications for research, policy, and nursing education and practice are discussed. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Pregnancy and parenting during adolescence and care transitions from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to home are relatively complex experiences. While each have been explored separately, very little is known about when these experiences intersect. This thesis examines theory and methods related to this complex intersection and describes findings of research exploring NICU-to-home care transitions for adolescent parents.

<p>A qualitative research design in the form of a case study was employed. A quantitative method was also utilized in the form of a short questionnaire for demographic purposes in order to provide a general description of the sample. A purposive sample of 10 parenting learners, and two teachers was selected. The study was conducted in a Senior Secondary School that is located in Khayelitsha, a historically disadvantaged community in the Western Cape. Semi structured interviews of approximately ninety minutes each were conducted and audio taped. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the audio taped data from the transcribed interviews. The key findings from this research illustrate that there is a misunderstanding and miscommunication between teachers and learners about learner pregnancy. Pregnant learners hide pregnancy from the teachers to avoid comments and from being expelled from the school and consequently do not get any support from the school. On the other hand, the findings indicate that if the teachers were aware of their pregnancy and trained to deal with learner pregnancy, these learners would be supported by the school. Some of the recommendations were to develop the capacity of the teachers so that the school is able to provide an adolescent-professional-friendly service. A safe non-judgmental environment is required so that the learner is able to disclose her pregnancy status as early as possible to ensure that they receive the necessary support.</p>

<p>A qualitative research design in the form of a case study was employed. A quantitative method was also utilized in the form of a short questionnaire for demographic purposes in order to provide a general description of the sample. A purposive sample of 10 parenting learners, and two teachers was selected. The study was conducted in a Senior Secondary School that is located in Khayelitsha, a historically disadvantaged community in the Western Cape. Semi structured interviews of approximately ninety minutes each were conducted and audio taped. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the audio taped data from the transcribed interviews. The key findings from this research illustrate that there is a misunderstanding and miscommunication between teachers and learners about learner pregnancy. Pregnant learners hide pregnancy from the teachers to avoid comments and from being expelled from the school and consequently do not get any support from the school. On the other hand, the findings indicate that if the teachers were aware of their pregnancy and trained to deal with learner pregnancy, these learners would be supported by the school. Some of the recommendations were to develop the capacity of the teachers so that the school is able to provide an adolescent-professional-friendly service. A safe non-judgmental environment is required so that the learner is able to disclose her pregnancy status as early as possible to ensure that they receive the necessary support.</p>

abstract: The goal of this study is to contribute to the understanding of Mexican-American three- to five-year-old children’s effortful control (EC) and negative emotionality (NE) development by examining whether Mexican-American adolescent mothers’ parenting transacts with their three- to five-year-old children’s EC and NE and by exploring whether mothers’ familism acts as a protective factor. I hypothesized that mothers’ harshness and warmth would transact with EC and NE over time. I further hypothesized that mothers’ familism values would (a) positively predict mothers’ warmth and negatively predict mothers’ harshness, and (b) act as a buffer between low EC and high NE, and high harshness and low warmth. These hypotheses were tested within a sample of Mexican-American adolescent mother-child dyads (N = 204) and assessed longitudinally when children were 36, 48, and 60 months. Mothers were predominantly first generation (i.e., mothers’ parents were born in Mexico; 67%) and spoke English (65%). When children were 36 months, average family income (i.e., wages, public assistance, food stamps) was $24,715 (SD = $19,545) and mothers had started community college (13%) or completed high school/GED (30%), 11th grade (19%), 10th grade (8%), or less than 9th grade (14%). In this sample, transactions between harshness or warmth and EC or NE were not found, but a bidirectional association between NE and harshness was found. Familism marginally negatively predicted harshness, but not warmth. Familism moderated the relation between NE and harshness such that there was only a negative relation between NE and harshness when familism was high. However, familism did not moderate the relations between NE and warmth, or EC and harshness or warmth. The results of this study are discussed with respect to (a) current methodological limitations in the field, such as the need to test or develop parent-report measures of Mexican-American children’s temperament and value-driven socialization goals, (b) future avenues for research, such as person-centered studies of clusters of mothers’ values and how those relate to clusters of parenting behaviors, and (c) implications for interventions addressing parenting behavior of adolescent mothers. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Family and Human Development 2018

Magister Artium (Human Ecology) - MA(HE) / A qualitative research design in the form of a case study was employed. A quantitative method was also utilized in the form of a short questionnaire for demographic purposes in order to provide a general description of the sample. A purposive sample of 10 parenting learners, and two teachers was selected. The study was conducted in a Senior Secondary School that is located in Khayelitsha, a historically disadvantaged community in the Western Cape. Semi structured interviews of approximately ninety minutes each were conducted and audio taped. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the audio taped data from the transcribed interviews. The key findings from this research illustrate that there is a misunderstanding and miscommunication between teachers and learners about learner pregnancy. Pregnant learners hide pregnancy from the teachers to avoid comments and from being expelled from the school and consequently do not get any support from the school. On the other hand, the findings indicate that if the teachers were aware of their pregnancy and trained to deal with learner pregnancy, these learners would be supported by the school. Some of the recommendations were to develop the capacity of the teachers so that the school is able to provide an adolescent-professional-friendly service. A safe non-judgmental environment is required so that the learner is able to disclose her pregnancy status as early as possible to ensure that they receive the necessary support. / South Africa

The patterned interactions in a support group for adolescent mothers are analyzed in the context of the specific construction(s) of adolescent pregnancy and motherhood that legitimate the program's existence. Particular attention is paid to the way in which staff and clients are positioned vis a vis one another through the typification of the program's mission and goals. Data analyzed include field notes recorded during ten months of participant observation with the group, program documents describing the history, mission, and goals of the program, and an in-depth interview with the Program Director. Changes in funding patterns led to an increased emphasis on the prevention of child abuse as a goal of the program. The resulting expectations of program staff and assumptions about adolescent mothers cast these two groups of women into social identities containing inherent contradictions. Differences of social class further complicate the relationship between the groups. Varying strategies of self-presentation are employed by clients and staff as they struggle with these contradictions. The young mothers present themselves in ways that maintain distance between themselves and staff. While the staff are never completely successful and breaking down the barriers between themselves and the young mothers, one style of self-presentation has the potential to bridge the gap. The findings have practical implications for the design and implementation of human service programs, particularly those which address stigmatized categories of women. The findings also have theoretical implications relevant to ongoing discussions of feminist epistemology, and the intersection of gender and social class. / Ph. D.