CHILDREN IN HISPANIC FAMILIES EXPERIENCING A TEEN BIRTH

描述(申请人提供)：这项拟议的研究将研究150个第一次怀孕的西班牙裔家庭，并在青少年向育儿方式的转变过程中，以近距离的间隔纵向跟踪这些家庭。这项研究的重点是家庭中其他孩子或怀孕青少年的兄弟姐妹的发展和适应。怀孕的青少年(n=150，年龄15-18岁)、他们12-17岁的弟弟妹妹(n=240)和他们的母亲(n=150)将在青少年怀孕7个月、产后6周、产后6个月和产后12个月完成访谈和问卷调查，以了解青少年婴儿加入家庭的压力下家庭动态和儿童发展路径的变化。在产后6个月，将对随机选择的40名儿童进行定性访谈，以更有叙事性地了解他们的姐姐分娩后他们的生活发生了怎样的变化。在同一时间段，对150名怀孕青少年从未怀孕的朋友以及他们12至17岁的弟弟妹妹和他们的母亲进行了比较样本的研究。 这项研究的目标是：(1)确定经历了青少年出生的家庭内发生的(立即和跨时间的)变化；(2)确定导致儿童对这些事件的压力和适应不良的家庭层面和个人层面的因素，反之；(3)确定导致儿童成功适应姐妹出生的所有层面和家庭层面的优势和能力。结果包括儿童：表现出问题行为(吸毒和酗酒，性早熟)，内化症状，学习动机和亲社会行为。成长曲线模型将用于分析跨时间变化，结构方程模型将用于分析影响儿童结局的中介机制。这项研究的主要意义在于，它纠正了经历青少年出生的家庭对儿童发展缺乏了解的问题，并有能力向政策制定者通报青少年过渡到育儿方式时儿童和家庭面临的突出问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed research will study 150 Hispanic families at the time of the first teenage pregnancy and follow these families longitudinally at closely-spaced intervals across the teenager's transition to parenting. The focus of this research is on the development and adaptations of the other children within the household, or the pregnant teenager's siblings. The pregnant adolescents (n=150, ages 15-18), their 12-to 17-year-old younger siblings (n=240), and their mothers (n=150) will complete interviews and questionnaires when the teen is 7 months pregnant, 6 weeks postpartum, 6 months postpartum and 12 months postpartum to discern how family dynamics and children's developmental paths change under the stress of having an adolescent's infant join the household. Qualitative interviews will be conducted at 6 months postpartum on 40 randomly selected children to discern more narratively how their lives have changed after their sister gave birth. A comparison sample of 150 never-pregnant friends of the pregnant teens will also be studied across the same time period, along with their younger 12- to 17-year-old siblings and their mothers. The goals of this research are: (1) to identify the changes that occur (both immediately and across-time) within families that experience a teenager's birth; (2) to identify the family-level and individual-level factors that contribute to children's stress and maladaptation to these events, and conversely; (3) to identify the individuall level and family-level strengths and competencies that lead to children's successful adaptation to a sister's teenage birth. Outcomes include children's: acting-out problem behaviors (drug and alcohol use, precocious sexuality), internalizing symptomatology, academic motivation, and prosocial behavior. Growth curve models will be used to analyze across-time change and structural equation models will be used to analyze the mediating mechanisms that affect children's outcomes. The major significance of this research is its redress of the lack of knowledge about children's development in families experiencing an adolescent's birth and its ability to inform policy-makers about the salient issues facing children and families as adolescents transition to parenting.