Adolescents’ attitudes towards parenting practices and understanding of attachment

Cowtan, Charles R. G. (2019). Adolescents’ attitudes towards parenting practices and understanding of attachment. University of Birmingham. Clin.Psy.D.

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Abstract

Objective: Women who become mothers during adolescence have been shown to experience a range of challenges which can affect the quality of their parenting practices. This review seeks to explore whether there is an increased risk of child abuse or neglect among children of adolescent mothers. It sets out to answer the following sub-questions: 1. Are children of adolescent mothers at increased risk of abuse? 2. Are children of adolescent mothers at increased risk of neglect?
Method: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using various synonyms of ‘adolescent mother’, ‘abuse’, and ‘neglect’. Ten papers were identified as relevant and these were evaluated using a quality framework for quantitative studies (Kmet, Lee & Cook, 2004). Quality ratings for the identified papers ranged from 0.72 - 0.9.
Findings: The results suggest that children of adolescent mothers are more likely to experience both physical abuse and neglect than children of older mothers. It is, however, not clear whether maternal age is in itself a risk factor, or if risk is associated with additional challenges that are commonly experienced by adolescent mothers.
Conclusion: Despite the difficulty in measuring instances of abuse and neglect due to the biases of self-report methods and the records of medical/child protective services, the research findings to date indicate that child abuse and neglect is more likely to happen to children of adolescent mothers. These preliminary results are discussed with reference to the limitations of the review and recommendations for future research and clinical practice have been proposed.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Clin.Psy.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Clin.Psy.D.

Supervisor(s):