High Educational Aspirations Among Pregnant Adolescents Are Related to Pregnancy Unwantedness and Subsequent Parenting Stress and Inadequacy

On the basis of theories of maternal identity development, role conflict, and childbearing motivation, the authors tested whether high educational aspirations among pregnant adolescents are related to the unwantedness of the pregnancy and whether pregnancy unwantedness leads to subsequent parenting...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marriage and family 2014-06, Vol.76 (3), p.652-664
Main Authors: East, Patricia L., Barber, Jennifer S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic grades
Acculturation
Adjustment
adolescent childbearing
adolescent pregnancy
Adolescents
Career Development
Childrearing Practices
Children
Education
educational aspirations
Educational Attainment
Educational Objectives
Feelings
Hispanic Americans
Identity
Latin American Cultural Groups
motherhood
Mothers
Motivation
Of General Interest
Parenting
parenting stress
Parents & parenting
Pregnancy
Psychological stress
Role Conflict
Stress
Teenage pregnancy
Teenagers
Unmarried persons
unwanted pregnancy
Women
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:On the basis of theories of maternal identity development, role conflict, and childbearing motivation, the authors tested whether high educational aspirations among pregnant adolescents are related to the unwantedness of the pregnancy and whether pregnancy unwantedness leads to subsequent parenting stress and inadequacy. Longitudinal data from 100 first-time-pregnant, unmarried Latina adolescents (M age = 17.3 years) were analyzed. Results from structural equation path modeling confirmed these associations, with strong educational ambitions related to greater unwantedness of the pregnancy, which led to feeling trapped by parenting at 6 months postpartum, which in turn was related to unaffectionate parenting and feeling inadequate in mothering at 1 year postpartum. The potential long-term negative consequences of high educational aspirations for pregnant adolescents' adjustment to parenting are discussed.
ISSN:0022-2445
1741-3737
DOI:10.1111/jomf.12103