Characteristics of Teen Families Accessing a Supportive Housing Program

There is a need for strength-based research that considers the complex realities of teen families. The purpose of the current study is to provide a springboard for this research by describing the characteristics of teen parents and their children involved in a supportive housing program. We used a community-based participatory research approach with a descriptive design. Teen parent participants completed self-report questionnaires about their relationship with their children, resilience, self-esteem, and parenting attitudes. In addition, the children of teen parents completed standardized assessments of their development. A total of 21 parents (18 mothers and 3 fathers) and 20 children participated. Results indicate that self-esteem and resilience are areas of difficulty for participants. In addition, most parents fell into the medium risk range with respect to the parenting attitudes measured. Of note, few parents fell into the high-risk range on most scales, suggesting that most participants have the foundation for successful parenting across the areas measured. Results also show that the majority of participants are demonstrating typical attachment, discipline practices, involvement, parenting confidence, and relational frustration. An area of particular strength for participants is their involvement with their children. It also appears overall that the children of teen parents are developing on a fairly typical trajectory that is reflective of the general population. This study reinforces the heterogeneity of teen families, with teen parents and their children showing different areas of strengths and challenges across the domains measured. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for research, policy, and practice.