Unplanned pregnancy is prevalent in the United States and has been linked to challenges for both mothers and their children over time. However, existing literature is limited by unrepresentative samples, retrospective reports of pregnancy intention, and lack of theoretical guidance. Studies have not yet identified mechanisms through which pregnancy intention is associated with children's outcomes, to sufficiently inform clinical practice. This current study addressed these limitations through inclusion of an at-risk sample of 224 first-time mothers from the Predicting and Preventing Neglect in Teen Mothers Study, assessing pregnancy intention during the third trimester of pregnancy, and testing mechanisms in the association between pregnancy intention and children's outcomes which were hypothesized by Family Systems Theory. The study also examined reciprocal associations among hypothesized mediators, including maternal depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and coparenting satisfaction. Mediation analyses revealed that both parenting stress and coparenting satisfaction when children were 24 months old served as mechanisms in the association between unplanned pregnancy and children's social-emotional competence at 36 months. Additionally, a cross-lagged longitudinal model suggested multiple pathways through which unplanned pregnancy was associated with children's externalizing, internalizing, dysregulation, and social-emotional competence at 36 months. Maternal depressive symptoms tended to predict later parenting stress which, in turn, was associated with later coparenting satisfaction and children's behavioral outcomes. Implications for future research are discussed, including collection of data from multiple respondents and assessment of pregnancy intention prospectively. Clinical implications for work with at-risk parents are also outlined. Specifically, the results suggest that early intervention with mothers experiencing unplanned pregnancies to specifically address depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and coparenting may serve to promote healthy outcomes among their children over time. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / May 20, 2014. / At-Risk Families, Children, Coparenting, Depression, Parenting, Pregnancy Intention / Includes bibliographical references. / Lenore M. McWey, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sally Karioth, University Representative; Ming Cui, Committee Member; Kendal Holtrop, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_185366 |
| Contributors | Claridge, Amy Marie (authoraut), McWey, Lenore M. (professor directing dissertation), Karioth, Sally (university representative), Cui, Ming (committee member), Holtrop, Kendal (committee member), Department of Family and Child Sciences (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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