Intergenerational Attachment and Executive Functioning and the Development of Young Children of Adolescent Mothers

 描述（由申请人提供）：青少年养育子女的负面后果是有据可查的，相关的社会成本每年超过90亿美元。青少年母亲所生的孩子往往经历较少的回应和支持性养育，并且面临一系列社会，发展和健康问题的风险更高。有文献支持祖母对青少年父母及其子女的积极影响。此外，政府的生计计划要求未婚青少年父母与一个负责任的成年人生活在一起，通常是青少年母亲的生母。但是，如果孩子的亲生母亲在养育孩子的能力上也是有限的呢？这两代母亲养育能力有限的影响如何影响发育中的孩子？本研究将探讨青少年母亲（TM）及其共同居住的母亲（祖母; GM）对年幼发育中的儿童的养育能力的两个重要方面：（1）依恋质量（即父母与另一个人形成深层移情联系的能力）和（2）执行功能（即父母的组织，计划，多任务和自我控制能力）。这些关系和认知能力是有效养育子女的基本组成部分。然而，在由两代父母抚养的情况下，他们对幼儿的健康，福祉和发展的影响知之甚少。采用横断面、描述性设计，将从一家为青少年父母和儿童（95%为非洲裔美国人）服务的城市诊所招募50名TM/GM二人组及其1-3岁儿童的便利样本。TM和GM将独立完成纸笔测量依恋质量和计算机化的一系列任务，以测量EF的多个方面（工作记忆，抑制控制，设置转移）;标准化的母亲报告筛选措施将用于评估目标儿童的发育状况。将使用描述性统计和逻辑回归分析数据，以检查相对贡献 两代母亲（TM和GM）的依恋质量和EF对幼儿发展风险的影响。拟议的研究培训计划是一项研究计划的基础，该计划的重点是为青少年母亲的需求量身定制的创新三代干预措施提供信息，目标是改善青少年母亲家庭的健康状况。该研究领域与国家护理研究所（NINR）的使命保持一致，以促进和改善个人，家庭和社区的健康。拟议的研究和伴随的培训计划将准备申请人开始职业生涯作为一个独立的护理科学家在育儿和家庭研究。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The negative consequences of teen parenting are well documented and the associated costs to society exceed $9 billion annually. Children born to teen mothers tend to experience less responsive and supportive parenting and are at heightened risk for a range of social, developmental, and health issues. There is literature to support the positive impact of grandmothers on teen parents and their children. Further, government subsistence programs require that unwed teen parents live with a responsible adult, typically the teen mother's biological mother. But what if the teen's biological mother is also limited in her parenting capacities? How does the impact of limited parenting capacities across these two generations of mothers affect the developing child? This study will examine two important aspects of parenting capacities in teen mothers (TM) and their co- residing mothers (the grandmother; GM) on the young developing child: (1) attachment quality (i.e. parent's ability to form deep, empathic connections to another person) and (2) executive functioning (i.e. parent's ability to organize, plan, multitask, and exhibit self-control). These relational and cognitive capacities are essential components of effective parenting. However, there is little known about their impact on young children's health, wellbeing, and development in the context of being raised by two generations of parents. Using a cross- sectional, descriptive design, a convenience sample of 50 TM/GM dyads co-residing with their 1-3 year old children will be recruited into the study from an urban clinic serving teen parents and children (95% African American). TMs and GMs will independently complete a paper-and-pencil measure of attachment quality and a computerized series of tasks to measure multiple aspects of EF (working memory, inhibitory control, set shifting); a standardized maternal report screening measure will be used to assess the developmental status of the target child. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression to examine the relative contributions of attachment quality and EF across two generations of mothers (TM and GM) on young children's developmental risk. The proposed research training plan is foundational to a program of study focused on informing innovative three generation interventions tailored to the needs of teen mothers with the goal of improving health outcomes for families of teen mothers. This area of research is well aligned with the National Institute of Nursing Research's (NINR) mission to promote and improve the health of individuals, families, and communities. The proposed research and accompanying training plan will prepare the applicant to begin a career as an independent nurse scientist in parenting and family research.