Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents A Study of Eth

Authors: Karin Sieger Kimberly Renk

Publish Date: 2007/04/13

Volume: 36, Issue: 4, Pages: 567-581

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Abstract

This study examined relationships among the ethnic identity behavior problems selfesteem and social support of 166 ethnically diverse pregnant and parenting adolescents the majority of whom were African American and Hispanic American and their infants Results indicated that pregnant and parenting adolescent females were experiencing nonclinical levels of behavior problems on average and did not differ in their ratings of the variables examined in this study In addition social support moderated the relationship between behavior problems and selfesteem for these adolescents Further social support mediated the relationship between ethnic identity and internalizing behavior problems as well as between ethnic identity and selfesteem Finally parenting adolescents rated their infants as experiencing “at risk” levels of difficulties Although parenting adolescents’ experience of behavior problems and selfesteem was related significantly to their infants’ difficulties none of the variables examined in this study predicted significantly parenting stress These results suggested that interventions targeting social support may be helpful for improving the functioning of pregnant and parenting adolescents and their infantsKarin Sieger earned her Bachelors degree in Psychology with a minor in Statistics from Boston University and earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Central Florida in 2004 after completing a predoctoral internship in Clinical Psychology at River Oak Center for infants in Sacramento California She most recently held a Psychology postdoctoral position at NJ CARES New Jersey Child Abuse Research Education and Service Institute at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Her clinical interests include working with underserved young children and their familiesKimberly Renk earned her Bachelors degree in Psychology at the University of Illinois in 1992 her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology at Illinois State University in 1994 and her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of South Florida in 2000 after completing a predoctoral internship in Clinical Psychology at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center She is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Central Florida in Orlando Florida Kimberly Renks current interests include parents’ perceptions of their childrens emotional and behavioral functioning and parentchild interactions She and her graduate students are pursuing actively the study of these topics as part of her Family PAIRS Perceptions and Interaction Research Studies Psychology Laboratory and her Young Child and Family Research Clinic at the University of Central Florida

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