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Broken Past, Fragile Future: Personal Stories of High‐Risk Adolescent Mothers
Author(s) -
Williams Christine,
Vines Susan W.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal for specialists in pediatric nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.499
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1744-6155
pISSN - 1539-0136
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6155.1999.tb00076.x
Subject(s) - neglect , developmental psychology , psychology , qualitative research , child neglect , child abuse , suicide prevention , poison control , medicine , psychiatry , social science , environmental health , sociology
purpose . To uncover what adolescent mothers view as their childhood struggles, their transition to the role of motherhood following a childhood of abuse/neglect, and their important relationships after they became parents. design . Qualitative, phenomenological. setting . Community‐based parenting program for first‐time mothers at risk for abusing or neglecting their children. participants . Seven first‐time mothers, ages 13 to 20, who reported they had been abused and/or neglected as children. All had healthy newborns. results . Five themes emerged from the data: impoverished past, disintegration of relationships, emotional distance, problem fixing, and reconnecting. Participants described a process of using the experience of pregnancy and parenting as a mechanism for growth. Becoming a parent provided an opportunity to receive support from family members and to build more positive relationships. They viewed the experience as a second chance for a successful and fulfilling life.